LUKOIL and Slovenian company Petrol have made a framework agreement on creating a joint venture for oil products sales on the territory of the Balkan countries. 

Petrol company will have 51% participating interest in the new JV, and LUKOIL – 49%. The joint venture will be managed on parity basis.

It is expected that Petrol will bring into stock capital of JV shares of the four companies, which possess fuel stations in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. LUKOIL will enter shares of its subsidiary companies – LUKOIL-Beopetrol (Serbia) and LUKOIL-Macedonia.                         

Investments in the joint venture will be made on the basis of independent mark-to-market valuation of assets, while cash resources will make up for deficit.  

Framework agreement is approved by appropriate corporate bodies of LUKOIL and Petrol. Close of the deal on joint venture creation is subject to fulfillment of a number of preliminary conditions. The parties plan to accomplish the work on setting-up a joint venture till the end of 2006.             

“The terms of settlement of a joint venture were mutually beneficial, - President of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov said. – We are interested in expanding our market representation in the Balkan countries. Here it’s largely tangible to attain synergy effect with existing LUKOIL`s assets in Eastern Europe.”