Lukoil denies having talks with Qatari-British consortium on sale of refinery in Bulgaria; looking into various options

MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) - LITASCO SA, part of the Lukoil Group, which owns the Lukoil Neftochim Burgas refinery in Bulgaria, says that it has no media requests for information regarding recent reports about the sale of the refinery, including an article in the Financial Times that spoke of a deal involving a Qatari-British consortium, the company said.

Citing sources, the Financial Times earlier said that wrote that Lukoil had chosen a consortium comprising Oryx Global, controlled by Qatari businessman Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad, and London-based commodity trading house DL Hudson as the buyer of its refinery in Bulgaria and planned to complete the deal by the end of the year.

"We have emphasized that the assumptions in the aforementioned publications do not correspond to reality: no discussions were held with the aforementioned Qatari-British consortium or with the authorities of the Russian Federation on this issue," the company said.

The company says that it "continues to operate in line with its approved internal strategic objectives: it is conducting an analysis of various options for its business in Bulgaria with the involvement of independent consultants and the participation of a number of reputable market players."

"However, no decision has yet been reached at this time regarding any specific transaction with any potential counterparty," the company said.

"Lukoil states that it is ready to defend its business reputation against misleading media reports. Lukoil adheres to the principle of transparency and will continue to inform the Bulgarian authorities, Lukoil's Bulgarian Petrochemical Syndicate, and other concerned parties about any significant events concerning its Bulgarian assets," the company said.