The owners of LUKOIL have no plans to sell the company, LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov said on the radio station Ekho Moskvy on Tuesday evening.
“The company LUKOIL is not being sold because neither I nor my colleagues, who are major shareholders, are offering our shares to the market,” he said.
“My stake of shares will remain in order to ensure the company’s stability for many years, and my son will not have the right to split it and sell it,” Alekperov said.
He provided assurances that LUKOIL does not need to fear possible absorption by government structures.
“I don’t think that such steps will spread further to our company. I’m not worried about the future of LUKOIL,” Alekperov said.
Addressing Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft’s purchase of TNK-BP, he noted that the joint venture’s shareholders (the UK’s BP and Russia’s Alfa-Access-Renova consortium) were offered a good price.
“TNK-BP’s shareholders made the decision to sell the company. I don’t think anybody pushed TNK-BP. The price that was offered suited the shareholders. That’s why, in this case, the process was civilized,” Alekperov said.
He also expressed confidence that the privatization process will continue in Russia.
“I am sure that state-owned companies – such statements are being made by the government – will be privatized. In particular, BP will become a large shareholder in Rosneft. In other words, civilized methods of doing business will be observed,” he said.
