LukOil plans to open premium gas stations

LukOil Romania, one of the top three players on the local oil distribution market, plans to build premium gas stations, most likely to be called LukOil Lux, said sources inside the company.

LukOil Romania is currently running a feasibility study for this project. “We do not yet know the number of premium gas stations which we would own on the Romanian market. We only know that such a project would theoretically increase the number of clients,” said the sources.

The company owns a refinery in Romania, Petrotel Ploiesti, and a network of some 300 gas stations. LukOil plans to exceed 350 gas stations by 2009 and estimates it will invest over €75 million in this project.

Currently, the only company that operates premium gas stations is Petrom, under the brand of PetromV, part of the Austrian OMV group, which operates the OMV premium segment gas stations.

Petrom, fuel distribution market leader, estimates that its retail market share in 2007 amounted to some 32 percent, and targets ownership of 250-300 premium gas stations.