Executives at Russian oil giant LUKOIL are hoping to see their government institute a zero-rate duty on the export of crude produced in the Caspian Sea, LUKOIL Vice-President Leonid Fedun said in an interview.

"Without state assistance, developing oil fields on the marine shelf is a very unprofitable business for any company", he said. 
Fedun said the new oil producing infrastructure needs to be established in the region. He added that the need for investments in new fields is in part due to the face fields in West Siberia are becoming naturally depleted.

Earlier, Fedun told journalists that without a zero-rate duty on crude exports from East Siberia, LUKOIL would only develop two fields in the near term - the Korchaginskoye and Filanovskoye fields, Gazeta.ru reports.

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The Azerbaijan state oil and Gas company (SOCAR) will integrate Petkim with Sumgayyta petrochemical enterprises, 1news.az reports.

"At the present time, the Petkim Turkish petrochemical complex controls 27 percent of the chemcial products market in Turkey", SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said, speaking at the 17th Caspian oil and gas conference, Oil and Gas Caspian-2010.

Abdullayev said SOCAR plans to expand Petkim, including building a refinery in Turkey. "We have plans to integrate Petkim and Symgayyta petrochemical enterprises", Abdullayev said.

The refinery will be built near the Petkim petrochemical facilities in Turkey.
since 2007, the Azerbaijan side - SOCAR-Turcas - has owned 51 percent of shares in the Petkim holding.

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Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company, Kazmunaygaz, wants to acquire up to 10 percent of the Karachaganak consortium, the chair of the Kazmunaygaz board of directors, Timur Kulibayev, told journalists Thursday during an investment summit in Almaty.

"Kazmunaygaz  would like to acquire up to 10 percent in the Karachaganak project", he said.

Kazmunaygaz President Kairgeldy Kabyldin confirmed the information, but was unable to say how much such an acquisition might cost. 

Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) is a consortium of companies united together to execute the Karachaganak project. The consortium includes BG Group and Eni, which each have a 32.5 percent stake, Chevron with 20 percent and LUKOIL with 15 percent. the consortium is operating one of the biggest oil and gas condensate fields in the world and works under a PSA signed with the government of Kazakhstan in November 1997.

Under the terms of the agreement, the consortium is to run the project until 2038 up to which time no new taxes or duties are to be imposed on it.

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