Rosneft to invest US$3.3 billion in refinery upgrade

Russia’s Rosneft said it will invest 100 billion rubles (US$3.3 billion) in upgrading its refineries to produce Euro IV-spec gasoline within two years. Total capital expenditure is expected to reach more than 200 billion rubles (US$6.5 billion) by 2015, Eduard Khudainatov, first vice president said. In July, Rosneft said that it planned to invest US$7 billion to modernize its seven major refineries, but provided no time frame for the move. Russian refineries face a deadline to replace Euro II and III emission standards with Euro IV by January 1, 2012 and Euro V by 2015. But in April, the Russian energy ministry said it was reviewing the deadline and may extend it. (September 4, 2010)