TNK-BP may walk from Ukrainian refinery

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KIEV, Ukraine, April 10 (UPI) -- Anglo-Russian energy company TNK-BP said it closed an oil refinery in Ukraine indefinitely because of financial losses.

TNK-BP said it halted production at the Lisichansk refinery in Ukraine "for an indefinite period of time." It had refined about 25 percent of Ukrainian reserves in 2009 but that fell nearly 10 percent two years later in part because of cheaper imports from Belarus, reports British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

TNK-BP is a joint venture between British energy company BP and a consortium of Russian billionaires.

The company had touted the refinery as the most "technologically advanced" in Ukraine but said customs rules had made it unprofitable. TNK-BP reported a $68 million loss in 2010 and a $23 million loss in 2011.

The company said it was considering "various options" including the "potential refinery mothballing," the Telegraph adds.