MOSCOW, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- About $25 billion in investments during the next decade will help expand LUKoil's oil refining and petrochemical industry, an executive said.
Output from Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil company, declined almost 2 percent last year. Lukoil Chief Executive Officer Vagit Alekperov said major investments would help boost production by as much as 40 percent during the next decade, however.
"We are developing oil refining both in Russia and abroad," he was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying. "In the next 10 years we will invest about $25 billion in the development of oil refining and petrochemistry."
Lukoil is developing Iraqi oil fields alongside Norwegian energy company Statoil.
In early August, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation.
Shmatko said Lukoil, Gazprom Neft and Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP had talks regarding potential energy ties to Afghanistan.
TNK-BP, another major Russian player in Afghanistan, said it was scaling back on plans for oil refineries in eastern Siberia, however.
