Russia's Lukoil plans to exit Romania, where it owns an oil refinery and more
than 300 filling stations, and focus on raising the capacity of its refinery in
neighbouring Bulgaria, Bucharest-based media reported on Thursday.
The
Russian group was contemplating this option even before the launch of a criminal
investigation against its Romanianrefinery, Petrotel-Lukoil, news portal
Hotnews.ro said quoting unnamed sources from the energy sector.
Last
Thursday,Romanian prosecutors and police raided the offices of Petrotel-Lukoil
and laterseized a large amount of its raw materials in
inaninvestigation
into allegedmoney launderingand tax evasionconcerning an estimated 230
million euro($294million).
The first indications of Lukoil's possible
withdrawal from Eastern Europe came in August, when the Russian company sold its
filling stations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Slovak Republic,
Hotnews.ro said.
Petrotel-Lukoil has a capacity of nearly 3.0 million
tonnes. Lukoil's refinery in Romania's southern neighbour, Bulgaria, can reach
12 million tonnes following planned investments of more than 1.0 billion euro.
Another advantage of theBulgarian refinery is that it is locatedin Burgas, a
port atthe Black Sea, on the direct route of the Russiancrude, Hotnews.ro
added.
Lukoil's top management will decide by Friday whether to resume
production at the Romanianrefinery or keep it closed, depending on the result
oftalks with the local prosecutors regarding the assets which will be
remainedseized during the investigation, local daily Ziarul Financiar reported
on Thursday.
In 2013 Petrotel-Lukoil reported a net loss of 928.9 million
lei ($269.2 million/210.9 million euro) on a turnover of 5.51 billion lei.Itis
one of the largest oil refineries in Romania and Eastern Europe. It was sold
toLukoil in 1998.
In April, the Bulgarian government saidLukoil will
invest $1.5 billion in its localoil refiner Lukoil Neftochim Burgas under the
first stage of a project for the development of a heavy residue processing
plant.