Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS) plans to invest $6.309 billion on its refining business by 2017, a company executive said Tuesday.
The investment will enable Lukoil to add 240,000 barrels a day of crude oil processing capacity, Mikhail Antonov, Lukoil's deputy head of refining and head of refining business development said at the Global Refining Summit here.
"Russia is a good refining market and Lukoil is well positioned in this market," Antonov said.
He added that the company was preparing for potential tax changes in Russia. The current tax regime favors downstream investment, but proposed changes could cut taxes for upstream producers.
"We should be ready for changes," he said.
In addition to organic growth, Antonov reiterated Lukoil's intention to look at merger and acquisition opportunities in three regions: along the Druzhba pipeline route, which runs from Russia to Germany, the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean.
But Antonov declined to comment on talk that Lukoil was interested in purchasing a stake in Erg SpA's (ERG.MI) Sicilian refinery.
Separately, Lukoil remains in talks with German-registered trading company Sunimex over supplying crude oil to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline. Lukoil is currently supplying German oil refineries through seaborne oil exports, he said.