Turkey: Akpet Deal Completed by Lukoil - Update

Lukoil agreed to acquire Akpet in July. In a statement, Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov announced that his company will pay $555 million for the Turkish oil firm, whose 693 gas stations account for about 5 percent of the Turkish market.

Akpet facilities include eight oil terminals with a total capacity of 300,000 cubic meters, five liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) depots, three jet fuel depots and a lubricants production and packaging plant in İzmir's Aliağa district with a capacity of 12,000 tons per year.

Six of its eight oil terminals are on the coast and can accommodate oil tankers, and three terminals are connected by pipeline to the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TÜPRAŞ). Of the licensed fuel distributors in Turkey, Akpet ranks sixth in terms of market share, third in terms of storage capacity and second in terms of number of depots.

Lukoil paid $250 million for the deal in October and will pay the remaining sum in installments without interest. The second and third payments will be on April 30 and Oct. 30, 2009.

Alekperov said in the statement that purchasing the assets in Turkey had increased the company's distribution network abroad by 18 percent. "It is an integral part of Lukoil's strategy of delivering its high-value-added products to end users in the Black Sea and Mediterranean markets."

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