LUKoil rejects reports of U.S. refinery plans

MOSCOW, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's largest privately-owned oil producer LUKoil denied on Tuesday media reports that it was planning to purchase or build an oil refinery in the United States.

Media reported on Tuesday that LUKoil was planning, together with its strategic partner ConocoPhillips, to build refining facilities in the U.S.

"We are not considering the purchase, let alone construction, of refining capacities," LUKoil CEO Vagit Alekperov said.

Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday that the refinery would enable LUKoil to supply fuel to its 1,500 filling stations along the United States' East Coast.

Kommersant cited documentation prepared by the Kremlin for the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to Russia, which began on Monday, saying that LUKoil was planning to build the refinery expected to process Russian crude oil blends.

According to Kommersant, LUKoil first put forward the U.S. refinery proposal back in 2001, a year after it purchased a Getty Petroleum network of about 1,300 filling stations in the U.S.

In 2004, LUKoil purchased 795 filling stations from ConocoPhillips, which increased the Russian oil producer's East Coast chain to over 1,500 gas stations. Based on its average sales from its filling stations, LUKoil annually sells about 4 million metric tons (29 million barrels) of petroleum products on the U.S. market, the paper said.

According to Kommersant, LUKoil has repeatedly said that it has no plans to quit the U.S. market.