Feb 27, 1998 - A ceremony of delivering a new tanker to the LUKOIL fleet was held today at the MTW Schiffwerft GmbH shipyards in Wismar (Germany). The tanker was christened Volgograd at the ceremony performed by Lidiya Maksyuta, the spouse of the governor of Volgograd region (the lower Volga). By tradition LUKOIL tankers are given the names of the cities where its enterprises are located. This is the second ice-going tanker to be bought by LUKOIL. The first tanker, the Perm, launched in December 1997, is currently in near Cape Skagen (Denmark) and is heading to the north of Portugal for loading.

These tankers, intended for transporting crude oil and petroleum products in the Far North, have seven double-hulled cargo tanks. The ship is 145 meters long and 22.5 meters wide, and has a weight-carrying capacity of 16,000 tonnes. It can develop a speed of 14.4 knots (about 26 kilometers per hour). At a speed of two knots it can go through a 40-centimeters ice layer. It has 19-member crew. LUKOIL has placed an order for the construction of five tankers with the German ship builders.

The Admiralty shipyards in St.Petersburg will build three more reinforced ice-going tankers. The construction of the first one began in December 1997. This tanker is to be launched by 2000.

Until recently Russia did not have ice-going tankers capable of navigating along the Northern Sea Route. After the Soviet Union's breakup all tankers of this type, based in the Baltic Sea, were left behind in Latvia and Russia had to lease them.

Russia currently needs at least ten ice-breaker tankers which might transport about 250,000 tonnes of petroleum products during 80 to 90 days of Arctic navigation.

All of these plans are to be implemented within the framework of the government-approved Program for the Revival of the Russian Merchant Marine which provides for building 44 reinforced ice-going tankers by 2000. The construction of Arctic tankers under this program is estimated at $900 million.

In addition to the ice-going tankers, the Volgograd shipyards will build river-sea tankers for LUKOIL. By November 2001 ten ships of this kind are to be built in Volgograd. The freight-lifting capacity of such tankers is up to 3,600 tonnes on rivers and up to 6,600 tonnes in the sea. They can develop a speed of almost 10 knots and navigate autonomously for 15 days. The range of navigation is 4,000 miles. The ships were designed by a Volgograd design bureau on LUKOIL's order. They are intended for transporting crude oil and all types of petroleum products. Two types of fuel can be carried simultaneously. After the first series of tankers have been built, LUKOIL may decide to commission the construction of ten more ships.

LUKOIL's tanker fleet comprises the tanker Lukomorye with a freight-carrying capacity of 38,000 tonnes and the Kagalym with a freight-carrying capacity of 28,500 tonnes.

Press Centre  OAO "LUKOIL"
phone.: (095)927-1677,  fax: (095)927-1653,
E-mail: pr@lukoil.com