Updated April 1, 2008

   Lukoil plans to invest $6 billion in oil processing in 2008-2017 and to incre

ase its volume from 53 million up to 65 million tons

a year.

As stated the deputy head of the Main Directorate for Refinery of the company Mikhail Antonov at the VI all-Russian energy forum "Russia's fuel an energy industry in the XXI century", in terms of the strategy approved by the directors' board, Lukoil plans to allocate $2 billion at modernization and increase of processing volume from 16 million to 20

million tons on Nizhny Novgorod Oil Refinery.

The company invests the analogical sum into Volgograd Oil Refinery development to increase

the capacity by 12 million tons a year.

   Moreover, $600 million will be invested in Perm Oil Refinery, where will be constructed the catalytic cracker.

And $222 million will be allocated to develop Ukhta Oil Refinery in order to increase its capacity from 3,5 million to 6 million tons a year.

Antonov also explained that Ukhta works development depends on Yarega deposit development.

"This deposit performance will mobilize the operation of the works and will allow to increase the processing", he said. "Now we are engaged in the production of gasoline "Euro-3" and diesel "Euro-5". The construction of catalytic cracker, cracker, as well as aromatics unit, is planned", added the company representative.

   We will remind that in October, 2006 Lukoil has presented the program of the company strategic development.

Its optimistic scenario envisaged that by 2016 the company would increase the processing volume up to 200 million tons a year.

Previous year the company has several times corrected the plans of oil extraction according to 2007 results towards lowering.

So, at the beginning of the year Lukoil planned to increase the annual extraction by 4,5-5%. However, it was later forced to revise the forecast towards 2,5% lowering. As it was explained in the company,

the main extraction increase in 2007 had been connected with the putting into exploitation of South Khylchuyusskoe deposit in the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province, which had been postponed till summer, 2008.