Lukoil

[Goldfisch]

LUKoil to boost oil production



RBC, 22.10.2004, Moscow 17:50:28.The Board of Directors of LUKoil have approved key figures of the plan, budget and the investment program of the LUKoil group for 2005, the press department of the company said in a released statement. LUKoil based its projects on the forecasted average price for the benchmark Urals blend of $28 in 2005. According to approved documents, the company projects a 4-percent boosting of oil production. It is expected to produce 90.2m tons of oil. The company is to produce 7.8bn cubic meters of gas, which is 20 percent higher than the estimated gas production in 2004.

As for the downstream indicators, the company wants to increase oil exports. The company plans to export 49m tons of oil in 2005, which is 11 percent more compared to forecasted oil exports for 2004. LUKoil wants to process 11m tons of raw materials at its foreign refineries compared to 8.4m tons in 2004.

[Goldfisch]

25-10-2004

Lukoil-Vizepräsident: ConocoPhillips wird seine Lukoil-Anteile auf zehn Prozent erhöhen

Das Unternehmen ConocoPhillips könnte sein Lukoil-Aktienpaket bis zum Jahresende auf zehn Prozent vergrößern. Diese Meinung äußerte Lukoil-Vizepräsident Leonid Fedun am Montag in der Wirtschaftszeitung "Wedomosti".

"Ich denke, dass sie (ConocoPhillips) diese Aktien ruhig und ohne Hast aufkaufen werden", so Fedun. "Der Lukoil-Aktienumsatz beläuft sich auf rund drei Milliarden Dollar im Monat. Einen Aufkauf von 2,4 Prozent würde der Markt gar nicht merken."

Der Lukoil-Vizepräsident zweifelt nicht daran, dass ConocoPhillips bis zum Jahresende mit dieser Aufgabe fertig werden könnte. "Die Mentalitäten von Lukoil und ConocoPhillips sind einander ähnlich", meinte er.

"Sowohl sie als auch wir haben uns stürmisch entwickelt und weltweit neue Aktiva erworben. Außerdem bekommen wir einen guten synergetischen Effekt: ConocoPhillips ist das größte Ölverarbeitungsunternehmen in den USA, aber auch unter den Privatunternehmen der Welt, während wir Vorteile bei der Förderung haben. Außerdem passen wir größenmäßig gut zusammen. Ein jedes andere Unternehmen aus der führenden Vier hätte versucht, zu dominieren. ConocoPhillips wird das aber nicht tun. Dies ist eine Allianz gleicher Partner."

Ferner bestätigte der Lukoil-Vizepräsident erneut die Position des Unternehmens zu den Yukos-Aktiva. "Nein, wir werden nicht an dieser Auktion teilnehmen", betonte Fedun. (RIA)

[Goldfisch]

AFX UK Focus) 2004-10-27 13:30 GMT:
Lukoil 9 mths oil output 1.71 mln bpd vs 1.59


MOSCOW (AFX) - Crude oil output from Lukoil Group totalled 1.71 mln barrels per
day in the nine months to September, up 7.5 pct year on year.

The average flow rate from its wells rose 11.5 pct to 10.7 tonnes per day, while
its refineries produced 30.5 mln tons of oil products, up 3.7 pct, the company
said in a statement.

The tonne/barrel conversion rate is 7.33, it said.

[Goldfisch]

Lukoil Plans Investment With Venezuela

Russia's Lukoil Plans $1 Billion Investment With Venezuela's State Oil Company
CARACAS, Venezuela Oct 28, 2004 — Russian oil giant Lukoil Holdings is planning a $1 billion joint investment with Venezuela's state-run oil company, a top Lukoil official said Thursday.

Andrey Kuzyaev, president of Lukoil Overseas Holding, told reporters that Lukoil is considering investing in oil exploration, among other projects in Venezuela.

Kuzyaev said Lukoil plans to sign an agreement with Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, in the coming months.

"We're still negotiating with PDVSA," said Kuzyaev, who declined to give additional details.

Carlos Mendoza, Venezuela's ambassador to Russia, said Lukoil is contemplating investments in heavy crude refining projects, exploration and the upgrade of less productive oil fields.

A possible new refinery to process heavy crude is another possibility, Mendoza said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sought to attract new investments in the energy sector from countries such as Russia and Iran.

Venezuela is the world's No. 5 oil exporter, a major fuel supplier to the United States and has the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East.

Quelle: ABC News

[Goldfisch]

29 Oct 2004 Radina Maria

Lukoil launches Romanian refinery after upgrade.

On Thursday, Lukoil launched its Romanian refinery after an upgrade that cost $120.7 mln.
As a result of restructuring, the refinery will be able to boost processing depth of crude oil from 87.9% to 94.8%. Total annual refining output will stand at 2.4 mln tons. The proportion of light oil products will jump from 73.3% to 81.7% and amount to nearly 2 mln tons. In 2005 the company’s refinery will fully switch to oil products produced in compliance with Euro-3 and Euro-4 standards.

A total of 257 filling stations and 10 petroleum depots operate under the Lukoil brand in Romania. The company’s share on the local products market is approaching 20%.

Thus, the re-commissioning of its refinery in Romania will enable Lukoil to expand its sales of value-added oil products on the European market.


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Russian LUKOil Seeks Higher Stake in Bulgarian Refinery


Business: 30 October 2004, Saturday.

Russia's grand in oil sector LUKOil has declared interest to increase its stake in Bulgarian oil refinery in Burgas, which is currently standing at 58.4%.

According to Dow Jones NewsWires, the company's European arm Lukoil Europe Holdings B.V. has asked Bulgarian government to allow it to buy out the shares of other stockholders in the Lukoil Neftochim Burgas.

Besides Lukoil, Neftochim Burgas is owned by British Virgin Islands-based Power Trade Ltd with a stake of 12.7% and 24.71% held by Cyprus-based Rienco Investment Ltd.

The Russian request could be met if Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission approves a tender offer to purchase Bulgarian oil refinery.

Quelle: SofiaNews

[Goldfisch]

EU verkündet am Montag Entscheidung zu JV Lukoil/ConocoPhillips


BRÜSSEL (Dow Jones-VWD)--Die Europäische Kommission will ihre Entscheidung über ein geplantes Joint Venture (JV) zur Rohölförderung der OAO Lukoil und der ConocoPhillips nicht wie geplant an diesem Freitag, sondern erst am Montag bekannt geben. Als Grund für die Verzögerung gab die Sprecherin von Wettbewerbskommissar Mario Monti an, die Unternehmen selbst seien noch nicht informiert worden.

Das Vorhaben war bei seiner Anmeldung als Fall für das vereinfachte Prüfverfahren eingestuft worden. Dieses wird angewendet, wenn wettbewerbsrechtliche Bedenken von vornherein ausgeschlossen werden. In der Regel wird der Zusammenschluss dann nach maximal vierwöchiger Prüfung genehmigt, wenn kein anderes Unternehmen dagegen Einwände erhoben hat.
(ENDE) Dow Jones Newswires/5.11.2004/ang/chr

05.11.2004, 05.11.

[Goldfisch]

Russian Company to Search for Gas in Saudi Desert

Created: 05.11.2004 14:44 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:42 MSK

MosNews

The Russian-Saudi joint venture Luksar will commence a seismic survey of gas deposits in Saudi Arabian desert, the Saudi Arab News newspaper reported on Friday, Nov. 5. Luksar is the joint venture of Lukoil Overseas, a subsidiary of Russia’s oil major Lukoil and Saudi Aramco oil company.

Survey work on an area totaling more than 30,000 square kilometers will continue throughout the next year. The drilling of at least nine exploratory wells is expected to start in 2006 and to last five years. Specialists believe the likelihood of finding a large gas deposit, suitable for commercial exploitation, in the desert is about 80 percent.

Lukoil is the first Russian company to gain access to gas deposits in Saudi Arabia. In March this year it signed a 40-year contract to explore and develop natural gas deposits in the northern part of the Rub’ al Khali [Empty Quarter] desert. The company, which is involved in about 15 oil and gas projects in various countries of the world, will invest over $200 million in the development of the deposit. It is thought the Saudi project could earn Lukoil a return of up to 15 percent on its investment, BBC reported.
SEE ALSO

[Goldfisch]

LUKoil begins drilling at northeastern Egyptian field
11/11/2004 11:05:00 AM GMT

LUKoil, the country's top oil producer, began drilling the first appraisal well at the Egyptian shelf field as the company is planning to compete with BP and Royal Dutch/Shell Group for market share in Africa.

Drilling began at the 1,820-meter deep well at the Northeast Geisum oil field, which needs $6 million of investment, LUKoil Overseas Holding said in a statement. Drilling of the first well at the West Geisum oil field in the Gulf of Suez in Egypt was postponed to February, the company said.

"The exploration program for both blocks covers a period of four years and includes drilling of four exploration wells," LUKoil said in the statement.

LUKoil plans to invest as much as $400 million in Egypt as it is expecting to expand output abroad to about 15 percent of its total production within a decade. The company wants to work on more fields when the country offers them, Andrei Kuzyaev, president of LUKoil Overseas Holding, said in April.

Initially, LUKoil planned to drill two exploration wells in Egypt this year and agreed to invest about $343 million to explore and develop the Northeast Geisum and West Geisum oil fields. Lukoil estimated in April that these fields may have as much as 423.8 million barrels of oil resources.

Quelle: Aljazeera

[Goldfisch]

LUKOIL
Lukoil determined bond repurchase price

November 12, 2004 The Board of Directors of OAO LUKOIL by absentee voting has determined a repurchase price of non-convertible interest-bearing documentary bonds to bearer wich the Company plans to offer before the end of 2004.

The repurchase price is fixed at 100% of the nominal value. The number of bonds in the issue is 6,000,000 bonds, total size of the issue is 6 billion rubles. Bonds mature in 5 years. Repurchase of bonds will be possible 3 years after the placement.

The bonds will be placed through an open subscription and will have a coupon paid semi-annually. The coupon interest will be determined through a tender during the placement.

Proceeds from the bond placement will be used for the purpose of implementing the Company�s general administrative activities, including debt repayment and investment in production projects in Russia and abroad.

[Goldfisch]

Lukoil Vice Pres: Tax Burden To Increase 15% In 2005

11-16-04 07:14 AM EST
MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--Russian oil company OAO Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS) said Tuesday it didn't expect to receive any back-tax claims from the year 2002 and onward.

"In 2001 we publicly announced that we were no longer going to use any scheme to minimize tax payments," Lukoil Vice President Leonid Fedun told a briefing.

Several years ago, Lukoil settled a dispute with tax authorities over a scheme it used to minimize taxes using the rocket launch center of Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

In the wake of multibillion dollar tax claims being levied against OAO Yukos ( YUKO.RS), investors have grown increasingly wary of Russian oil companies' tax histories.

Additional seeds of fear were sown last week when the Interfax News Agency reported that tax authorities were conducting audits into several other Russian oil majors. Lukoil wasn't included in the list.

Lukoil expects its tax burden to increase 15% in 2005 due to Russia's introduction of higher taxes on oil output and exports, Fedun said. He didn't give any specific figures.

Higher taxes could make projects requiring billions of dollars in investment unfeasible, Fedun said.

"It's a problem for the future," he said. "Either we'll have to enter into alliances with foreign majors, or the government will have to lower taxes. I think the government will eventually see that it's pointless to put money aside for ever."

Russia has created a stabilization fund to collect oil companies' windfall profits from high oil prices. However, there has been much controversy over how to use the proceeds.

A high rate of taxation isn't the only problem that has beset Russian oil majors in recent years. Transport costs have steadily been rising, and Russia's dependence on Europe as an export market has created a glut for Russia's Urals blend. In recent months, the prices of Urals has risen, but it has been outpaced by the record-setting prices on other blends.

Various Russian officials have proposed new pipeline routes targeting the Far East as well as the U.S., but a final decision has yet to be made.

"If there is no political, legally binding decision made by the end of next year, we'll have to start thinking about expanding our Varandei terminal, first to 12 million (metric) tons a year and then to 25 million tons," Fedun said. These throughput estimates are equivalent to 240,000 barrels a day to 500,000 b/ d.

As part of its joint venture with U.S. major ConocoPhillips (COP), Lukoil plans to ship crude produced in Russia's Timan-Pechora region directly to the U.S. via the Barents Sea port of Varandei.

Separately, Fedun confirmed that Lukoil is in talks with OAO Russian Railways (RR.YY) on exporting crude oil to China. Before the onset of its tax woes, Yukos was Russia's primary exporter to China, but has cut some volumes due to financial difficulties. The biggest obstacle in getting oil to China now is high railway tariffs, he said.

"If the tariffs will be at an acceptable level, then 10 million-15 million tons a year," that currently supply Europe, "could be shifted to the east," he said.

Company Web site: http://www.lukoil.com

-By Anna Raff, Dow Jones Newswires (+7 095) 974 8055; anna.raff@dowjones.com

Dow Jones Newswires
11-16-04 0714ET
Copyright (C) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Quelle: Morningstar.com

[Goldfisch]

Gesamtsumme der russischen Auslandsschulden bei 114 Mrd. Dollar
. .
Lukoil plant Lieferungen an die USA

Der Ölkonzern Lukoil will als erstes russisches Unternehmen in großem Stil Rohöl an die USA liefern. Der amerikanische Markt könne bis zu 50 Mio. Tonnen russisches Öl im Jahr aufnehmen, sagte Lukoil-Vizepräsident Leonid Fedun gestern in Moskau.

Das österreichische Webverzeichnis! Lukoil befürworte den Bau der so genannten Nördlichen Pipeline von Westsibirien zum eisfreien Hafen Murmansk an der Barentssee. Von dort aus soll das Öl mit Tankschiffen zur Ostküste der USA und Kanadas befördert werden.
Der russische Transportmonopolist Transneft favorisiert dagegen eine kürzere Pipeline von den Förderstätten in Westsibirien zum nächstgelegenen Hafen an der Barentssee. Im Hafen der Stadt Warandej solle die gegenwärtige Umschlagsleistung von 1,5 Mio. Tonnen jährlich deutlich erweitert werden.
"Wenn die Regierung auf die Pipeline nach Murmansk verzichtet, werden wir unsere Umschlagskapazitäten in Warandej auf zwölf Mio. Tonnen aufstocken", kündigte Fedun an. Die US-Seite habe bereits Investitionen in dieses Projekt zugesichert, sagte Fedun. Der vor der Zerschlagung stehende Lukoil-Konkurrent Yukos hatte im Juli 2002 erste Probelieferungen an die USA getätigt.

Öl soll Schulden reduzieren

Der Internationale Währungsfonds (IWF) hat Russland empfohlen, seine Öleinnahmen zur Schuldentilgung zu nutzen. Der IWF unterstützt damit das Vorhaben des russischen Finanzministers Alexej Kudrin, mit Geldern aus einem durch Öleinnahmen gespeisten Stabilisierungsfonds Auslandsschulden zu begleichen.
Russland hat seit 1999 keine Kredite mehr beim IWF aufgenommen, muss aber noch 3,5 Mrd. Dollar (2,7 Mrd. Euro) abbezahlen.

OPEC-Öl wieder billiger

Unterdessen wird Rohöl der Organisation Erdöl exportierender Länder (OPEC) billiger: Am Montag wurde der durchschnittliche Preis für sieben wichtige Rohölsorten mit 36,11 Dollar berechnet, 85 Cent weniger als am Freitag. Analysten rechnen damit, dass sich der Abwärtstrend für Rohöl zunächst fortsetzen wird. Und dies, obwohl vor allem in den USA die Lagerbestände an Heizöl, ungeachtet eines zu erwartenden kalten Winters, niedrig seien. n

Erschienen am: 17.11.2004
Quelle: Wiener Zeitung

[Goldfisch]

letzte Änderung: 24.11.04 12:27

Russische Eisenbahn liefert erstes Lukoil-Öl an China

Moskau. SDA/DPA/baz. Der grösste russische Ölkonzern Lukoil hat zum ersten Mal anstelle seines angeschlagenen Konkurrenten Jukos Öl an China geliefert. Eine Probepartie von 25 000 Tonnen wurde von der Russischen Eisenbahn auf den Weg gebracht. Im Dezember sollten bis zu 100 000 Tonnen und im ersten Quartal 2005 bereits 400 000 Tonnen mit Kesselwagen nach China befördert werden, teilte der Vizepräsident der Eisenbanh, Chasjan Sabirow, am Mittwoch in Moskau mit.

Lukoil springt für den Konkurrenten Jukos ein, der die Ausfuhren wegen Sperrung seiner Konten durch die russische Justiz nicht mehr finanzieren kann. In diesem Jahr sollte Jukos 3,86 Mio. Tonnen nach China exportieren. Von Januar bis zum Lieferstopp am 28. September hatte China 2,85 Mio. Tonnen Jukos-Öl bezogen. Sabirow sagte, die Bahn verhandele auch mit anderen russischen Ölproduzenten über China-Lieferungen. Hauptabnehmer von russischem Öl in China sind die Ölkonzerne CNPC und Sinopec.

Quelle: Basler Zeitung

[Goldfisch]

LUKOIL Oil Company November 25, 2004
LUKOIL improves safety of sea and river terminals

A meeting timed to the completion of river navigation was held at LUKOIL premises today. Issues connected with safe operation of sea and river terminals were discussed at the meeting.

As was noted at the meeting, an increased volume of shipped crude and petroleum products has been reported lately as transportation by sea and river remains one of the most cost-effective means of cargo haulage. As of November 15, 2004, LUKOIL has shipped 3.5 million tons of oil and 5.7 million tons of petroleum products including gas condensate and vacuum gas oil.

To respond to increased shipping volumes and the Company’s ecological policy, LUKOIL remains focused on navigation safety in the area of its terminals, cargo carriage operations and also on prevention and liquidation of oil leakages.

In 2004 LUKOIL held eight leakage-fighting drills at terminals and oil-loading stations located in Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Volgograd, Perm and Nizhny Novgorod regions. Well-trained personnel and hi-tech equipment at the terminals allow to successfully liquidate oil leakages and significantly reduce potential environmental damage. Environmental safety measures taken during cargo carriage operations at the terminals, as well as annual drills, allowed the Company to prevent leakages at its facilities.

In 2004, the Management Committee of LUKOIL approved the Company Sea and River Terminals Safe Operation Concept. The Company is currently implementing the Program to Improve Safety Means and Facilities of the First Echelon to Eliminate Oil Spills. In compliance with this Program LUKOIL Group companies spent over 9 million rubles on safety equipment in 2004.

Quelle: Rustocks

[Goldfisch]

(AFX UK Focus) 2004-11-26 15:45 GMT:
LukOil, Venezuala's PDVSA sign MoU over oil cooperation


MOSCOW (AFX) - LukOil said it signed a memorandum of Understanding with National
Petroleum Company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) regarding oil projects in
the Gulf of Venezuela.

The agreement was signed during a two-day visit of president Hugo Chavez and a
delegation of ministers and business leaders in the Russian capital.

Under the deal, PDVSA will provide new upstream projects for LukOil in the so-
called heavy-oil belt of Orinoco as well as rehabilitation, enhanced oil
recovery and productivity projects on depleted fields, for possible joint
participation.

The parties will discuss the purchase of crude oil and oil products by LukOil
from PDVSA in one-off transactions and through long-term agreements as well as
possible cooperation in the area of oil refining, the Russian company said in a
statement.

The parties also plan to exchange personnel on a regular basis for the purposes
of training, re-training and professional development in various areas.

newsdesk@afxnews.com

lam

[Goldfisch]

Lukoil To Drill In Caspian Sea
03.12.2004 7:48

Today in the town of Aktau, the administrative center of Mangistau Region (West Kazakhstan), the public hearings took place regarding the environmental impact assessment of the construction of an exploration well at the Tyub-Karagan offshore area.
The hearings included the main report and speeches of representatives of the Akimat (government) for Mangistau Region, experts of the developer of the detailed drilling design, the NIPI-KaspiyMunaiGas Institute, as well as the report of TOO Nedra, the main contractor for environmental studies. Based on the results of the hearings a resolution was adopted and a protocol was signed.
It is planned to start exploration drilling at the Tub-Karagan area in spring of 2005. The work will be carried out for four months at the sea depth of 7 meters. The target well depth is 2500 meters. The main purpose of the first well construction is to search for and assess oil and gas reserves in Jurassic, Cretaceous and Triassic deposits of the Tub-Karagan structure.
In the course of the well construction and testing, the most advanced world-class technologies will be applied, which will ensure zero discharge and eliminate a possibility of pollution of the Caspian Sea. The contractor is LUKOIL Shelf Ltd., a well-known Russian drilling company, which owns a world-class self-elevating floating drilling rig Astra. The contractor was selected as a result of the tender and consultations with government authorities of Kazakhstan.
LUKOIL-Shelf tested the zero-discharge technologies at previously drilled wells in the Russian and Turkmenian areas of the Caspian Sea. Baseline environmental studies were performed at the preliminary stage of the work. The process of well construction will be accompanied by environmental monitoring at all stages.
The Tub-Karagan area is located in the central part of the Kazakhstan Caspian sector. Exploration at Tub-Karagan is carried out on a parity basis by LUKOIL Overseas and KazMunaiGas, the National oil and gas company, represented by KazMunaiTeniz, which specializes in offshore projects. The operating company is Tub-Karagan Operating with its office in Aktau.
Forecast resources of Tub-Karagan amount to 388 million tons of fuel equivalent, including 324.3 million tons of oil. The probability of hydrocarbons discovery is evaluated as high. Production start year is 2010-2012. The framework document is PSA with 40-year term.

Quelle: Neftegaz