MOSCOW -- On the heels of the announcement that it would divest of all company-owned and -operated and dealer-operated gas stations in the United States, ConocoPhillips has reached an agreement with LUKOIL for the Russian oil company to purchase 376 ConocoPhillips-owned fueling stations in six countries in Europe.
[The] announcement represents a significant step in achieving our asset disposition program, said Jim Mulva, chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips.
The agreement covers 156 stations in Belgium, 49 in Finland, 44 in the [image-nocss] Czech Republic, 30 in Hungary, 83 in Poland, and 14 in the Slovak Republic. At present, all facilities are branded Jet stations and will be rebranded as LUKOIL stations within two years.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2007 following review by relevant authorities.
This deal is in support of the Ccmpany's downstream strategy, which among other things envisages LUKOIL's plans to considerably expand its retail chain in Europe and sell products with added value, said Vagit Alekperov, president of LUKOIL.
ConocoPhillips plans to increase its interest in LUKOIL to 20% by the end of the year as part of a strategic alliance announced in 2004.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips said earlier this month that it would sell a total of 830 U.S. stations to existing ConocoPhillips-branded marketers. The company said it does not intend to end the sale of branded product. Currently, the company operates under the 76, Conoco and Phillips 66 brands in 26 states.
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