Lukoil considers investing US$10 billion in Russia

Lukoil’s chief, Vagit Alekperov, said that the company has drafted a 10-year investment program that calls for more than US$10 billion in investments. He said, “The ten-year investment program will be more than US$10 billion in annual investment. The company is embarking on a period of major investment projects, such as West Qurna 2 in Iraq, and the development of the North Caspian, where there are huge reserves.” He added that the company is undertaking measures to increase refining depth at the refineries based in Russia. “We’re closing in on Kandym, Uzbekistan’s biggest deposit, with more than 10 billion cubic meters of gas [per year],” he said. The company had also laid down the cornerstone for its new catalytic cracking unit in November. The refinery will be built in Kstovo in the Kstovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in Russia and will be completed within two years. The company plans to invest more than US$3 billion in the Kstovo refinery within the next 10 years. Alekperov said. “The plant will have the biggest refining depth and higher output in Russia by 2017.” He added that the 10-year investment program also includes the Volgograd and Perm refineries. (October 13, 2011)