Despite the current financial crisis, Anglo-Russian oil joint venture TNK-BP (TNBP.RS) is still ready to modernize its refinery in Ukraine and is studying options to expand its upstream business in the country, Sergey Lisunov, the president of TNK-BP Commerce, TNK-BP's subsidiary in Ukraine told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.
The company plans to invest up to $200 million in the next three years in its Ukraine refinery. Lisunov said that Ukraine's refineries need billions of dollars for modernization in order to export refined products to Europe.
For the moment, he said, there is no chance that Ukraine's refineries' throughput will be at the project maximum.
He also said that for the moment Ukraine's refineries have no alternative to Russian and Kazakh oil.
TNK-BP is a 50-50 joint venture between BP PLC (BP) and a group of Russian billionaires. For months they had been entangled in a fierce battle over control and management issues, before settling the dispute last month.
Lisunov said that as the conflict "is practically resolved," main principles of the company's functioning will not change, but decisions will be made faster and managing the company will be easier.