Lukoil Romania forced in court to pay EUR 17 mln to supplier

Lukoil Romania, the local subsidiary of Russian oil group Lukoil, which manages a network of 300 fuel stations throughout the country, lost a lawsuit with one of its suppliers and will have to pay EUR 17.1 million worth of compensations, local Economica.net reported. The Bucharest Court of Appeal last week maintained a sentence the Bucharest Court ruled against Lukoil last year. However, the company can still challenge the decision. The supplier to whom Lukoil must pay compensations is local firm Inter Distribution Company, which had an exclusive contract with Lukoil to supply FMCG products to its fuel stations. The contract between the two companies was signed in 2008 and was valid until 2017. However, Inter Distribution Company went into insolvency in 2011. Last year, the Bucharest Court decided to cancel the contract between the two companies due to Lukoil’s fault and ruled the oil company must pay EUR 17.1 million worth of compensations. Lukoil Romania had a turnover of EUR 1.3 billion and a net profit of EUR 18.8 million in 2017. editor@romania-insider.com