March 26, 1998 - LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov and Chairman of the Board of the Central Fuel Company Yuri Shafranik signed today a general cooperation agreement between their companies.

The sides agreed on mutually-beneficial cooperation on the developing oil and petroleum product market and defined key areas of cooperation, namely:

• joint development of oil and gas fields in various parts of Russia and abroad,
• supplies of petroleum products to the Moscow region, construction, modernization and maintenance of filling stations meeting the high Moscow service standards,
• participation in the reconstruction and modernization of the Moscow oil refinery to increase the refining depth and petroleum products quality,
• delivery and refining of crude oil,
• joint investments.

Cooperation between LUKOIL and the Central Fuel Company is not limited to the agreement and given mutual consent may expand through the signing of additional agreements and protocols.

"We are interested in strengthening our positions on the Moscow market, so the agreement signed today with the Central Fuel Company easily fits in the company plans of expanding markets of refining and marketing petroleum products," Alekperov said at the signing ceremony.

"I am satisfied with the agreement signed with LUKOIL which today is righteously a leader of the Russian oil industry. The agreement meets the interests of the sides and determines the program of joint concerted actions in conditions of a developing oil and petroleum product market," Shafranik said.

LUKOIL is the biggest Russian vertically integrated oil company. In 1997 together with its subsidiaries it extracted 62.3 million tonnes of oil.

The Central Fuel Company is a regional company trying to comprehensively resolve energy problems in the strategic Moscow region. Earlier it signed a similar agreement with Tatneft, and LUKOIL with Norsi Oil.

 

 

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