NEW YORK -- Russia's leading oil producer LUKOIL is looking to buy U.S. refining assets as it pushes ahead with plans to ship Russian crude to the U.S. East Coast and grow its retail base in the Unites States in the coming years, according to a report from Reuters.
LUKOIL is looking to increase its U.S. gas station outlets to 3,000 from 2,000, Vadim Gluzman, chief executive of LUKOIL Americas, said in a Reuters interview. He said the company looks at individual U.S. outlets that are for sale and that it would be interested in a chain of gas stations.[image-nocss]
LUKOIL also wants to ship crude from a terminal being built in the Timan-Pechora region to the United States, where it could be processed into fuel for its gas stations in the U.S. Northeast, he said, adding that production from the Timan-Pechora region would begin in 2007.
Gluzman said LUKOIL is not in discussions to buy refining assets, and that it would make arrangements to process that crude once it had plans for shipments.
Our (ambition) is to expand our footprint in the United States; we are looking to buy more sites, more stations in the 13 Northeast states we operate, said Gluzman. The next step is to integrate that with our long position on the crude production side.
Gluzman said LUKOIL would be interested in assets of CITGO Petroleum Corp., the U.S. refining arm of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. We've had discussions with PDVSA in that regard on the highest levels a couple of years ago, said Gluzman. And if they will decide to sell, ... we will be one of the parties interested.
In addition to the sale of its stake in a Houston refinery to partner Lyondell Chemical Co., announced this past week, CITGO has said it wants to sell two U.S. asphalt refineries and its interest in the Colonial and Explorer pipelines as it focuses on its three wholly-owned U.S. motor fuels refineries, according to Reuters.
A CITGO spokesman said the company had not had discussions with LUKOIL for about two years.
LUKOIL's desire to expand in the United States are part its larger goal to position itself as a global oil company and establish a strong presence in refining and marketing in the United States.
The company has steadily built up its position in the United States, acquiring Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc.'s 1,300 gasoline stations in 2000, then buying ConocoPhillips gas stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. ConocoPhillips holds about an 18% interest in LUKOIL.
The United States is not only the main financial market in the world, it's the No. 1 gasoline consumer market in the world as well, Gluzman said. So for us it's extremely important to be present in that market.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.