Posted on 10/05/2006 7:06:49 PM PDT by Coleus
The gas station down at the corner is taking on a bold new look. The latest player on the block is Lukoil, a Russian oil company that holds the second largest oil reserves in the world behind only ExxonMobil. In the past 16 months, Lukoil has been rapidly converting hundreds of Mobil service stations in the region to its own distinctive brand. Its tanker trucks seem to be all over the roads, and its storage tanks are visible from the New Jersey Turnpike.
Instead of the traditional blue and white signs of Mobil, the Lukoil stations are painted red and white, often with huge signs burnished with the company's bright red logo. More than 240 locations around New Jersey have been converted, and by the end of next year more than 800 stations in the state and neighboring Pennsylvania will have taken on the Moscow-based company's brand. The conversion, averaging about 10 a week, began in the Philadelphia area and has been slowly moving northward, with several stations along the Garden State Parkway already flying the Lukoil flag. It is all part of an aggressive effort by the Russian company to establish a toehold in the very competitive Northeast gasoline market.
"They're looking for an outlet in the U.S.," said Bill Dressler, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline Retailers Association. "It's a very lucrative market." Lukoil leaped into the market in 2000 when it purchased Getty Petroleum Marketing and boosted its presence when it purchased 800 Mobil stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania two years ago. The deal came after the Federal Trade Commission ordered Exxon and Mobil to sell all of the latter's stations between Virginia and New Jersey as a condition for allowing an $81 billion merger of the oil giants to proceed.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Lousy? Yes, but 98% better than Citgo!
A lot of western oil companies own a share of Lukoil. I wouldn't get all panicked about it.
Is this the successor to Yukos?
Rumor has it that Lukoil may take over Citgo's domestic gas stations.
What's Lukoil's logo? A great big Hammer and Sickle? Or how about a huge five pointed Soviet star?
The Russkies are going to get a second match with us American capitalists, one way or another.
And this time, no more mister nice guy.
Giving money to Putin is almost as bad as giving it to Chavez...
Interesting.
I don't think so. I think those companies are still quite separate.
The company I was working for 10 years ago bought a big stake in Lukoil, and the company I'm working for today also did a few years ago.
I'm not sure that Yukos has any foreign part-ownership, but I don't really focus on the international entanglements. That's another department.
Good more competition.
Personally, I think this is good. I would like to consume Russian oil. Better use their oil before we use our own. As I`ve often said, ``He who has the last barrel of oil will rule the world.``
Just as well.
Good for Russia! We need world competion on oil. Russia needs to find a way to keep it's economy going. Good, good, good.
You got it.
No, the largest past of Yukos (Yuganskneftegas) was bought by Rosneft state company. Lukoil always has been being private.
BTW Yukos still exists and owns 3 or 4 big oil processing factories in Russia.
We pay Putin at the pump and he arms Hugo, the Iranians, Syrians and the rest of the extended family in the Axis of Evil. Nothing like feeding the beast.
Offer Mr. Putin a better contract, say, 500K assault rifles on condition we don't supply anyone during 10 years.
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