Lukoil notifies Romanian authorities about Ploiesti refinery production re-start

Russian group Lukoil will restart its Romanian refinery in Ploiesti, according to the representatives of the local environment authority in Prahova county. The authority received a notification from the company about this, according to Mediafax newswire. The Petrotel Lukoil refinery in Ploiesti was stopped on Friday, October 3, after Romanian prosecutors seized the company’s inventories as part of a criminal investigation. The company which operates the refinery, which is part of Russian group Lukoil, is investigated for tax evasion and money laundering which allegedly generated some EUR 230 million damages to the state’s budget, according to the prosecutors. Lukoil’s management in Moscow was expected to make a decision on Friday, October 10, on whether the refinery will be restarted or completely shut down. The group’s vice president, Vladimir Nekrasov, came to Romania earlier this week to talk to the prosecutors and to Government officials about the investigation and about the seizure of the company’s assets. He threatened that if the seizure isn’t lifted, then Lukoil might decide to close the refinery for good. Romania’s president Traian Basescu replied that the pressures made by the Russians on Romanian authorities and on prosecutors are unacceptable. He said that Romania’s Government should take over the refinery if Lukoil decides to close it and that the Russian group should completely exit the Romanian market. editor@romania-insider.com