Alexei Panov/ITAR-TASS
A Lukoil gas station in New York City was visited in September of last year by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, flanked by Vagit Y. Alekperov, left, president of Lukoil, and Senator Charles E. Schumer.
By JEFF GERTH
Published: October 2, 2004
agit Y. Alekperov, the president of Lukoil, is at ease talking about finding fossil fuels. "I am an expert in the area of oil and gas production," he said in an interview in a New York hotel on Thursday. "There's nothing else that I know how to do."
Fresh from a newly announced alliance with ConocoPhillips, Mr. Alekperov is trying to transform Lukoil from a Russian oil company to an international oil giant. Along the way, he is encountering the vagaries of global markets and geopolitics.
ConocoPhillips bought the Russian government's 7.6 percent stake in Lukoil for almost $2 billion, putting itself in a position to share in Lukoil's substantial reserves by entering into a joint venture for production in undeveloped hydrocarbon fields in northern Russia.
At present, Lukoil's reserves of 20 billion barrels are two and a half times those of ConocoPhillips, yet the American company has more than twice the market capitalization of its new Russian partner. Lukoil's shares trade in London.
Mr. Alekperov attributed the gap to "the political risks and instability" in Russia. He said he hoped that ConocoPhillips's "profound analysis of our corporate governance system" and reserves would strengthen Lukoil's credibility, despite continuing concerns about the Kremlin's influence over the Russian oil industry.
Although ConocoPhillips bought out the Russian government's stake in Lukoil, he said that given the importance of energy to Moscow, oil companies "will always be a focus of attention on the part of the government."
"I would not have ventured into this alliance without the blessings of President Putin," the Lukoil executive said, adding that he did not think that James J. Mulva, the chief executive and president of ConocoPhillips, would have formed the alliance either "without the blessing of his administration."
Washington does have an interest in the new alliance. Russia is not a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, so the new alliance could help diversify American oil supplies - a goal of Republicans and Democrats. Also, it represents the first major success in an effort, announced by President Bush and President Putin in May 2002, to build stronger bilateral energy ties.
Mr. Alekperov and Mr. Mulva visited top officials in Washington on Thursday to underscore that point. Their hosts included Peter Watson, head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, or OPIC. It has already lent its support to building a Lukoil export terminal on the Gulf of Finland, the first 100 percent Russian-owned venture to be supported by the government corporation.
Mr. Alekperov is looking for OPIC support for another export terminal - in the Barents Sea - that would handle oil from the northern fields where ConocoPhillips will now be a co-producer.
"We are talking to OPIC, and hopefully they will be able to assist with financing this project," Mr. Alekperov said.
He explained why the export terminal makes sense for both companies.
"If you look at a map you'll see the distance from there to the Northeast United States is one-third of what it is from the Persian Gulf," he said, noting that ConocoPhillips has a refinery on the East Coast and Lukoil has many gas stations.
For its part, the Bush administration, while supporting the new alliance, has kept some distance from it because of political concerns about the president's being viewed as too close to Moscow or the oil industry, according to one administration official. At Thursday night's presidential debate, President Bush, in response to a question, expressed concerns about President Putin's recent moves to consolidate power.
The other potential production alliance between the companies, the West Qurna field in Iraq, would have strong political overtones. Lukoil was originally granted the concession in 1997 under Saddam Hussein, at a time when relations between Moscow and Baghdad were cordial. But the war in Iraq called into question the validity of that concession, and Lukoil has so far been unsuccessful, in Washington and in Baghdad, in obtaining final confirmation of its claim.
The political situation in Iraq is "very complex so far," Mr. Alekperov said, so bringing in ConocoPhillips was a move at "risk sharing" with the hope that an American company would improve Lukoil's prospects with a new Iraqi government.
If a West Qurna deal is completed, ConocoPhillips will own 17.5 percent, Lukoil's share will be 51 percent and the rest will be divided between the Iraqi government and other Russian companies.
Lukoil projects that West Qurna could produce 500,000 barrels of a day in a few years after significant investment. Mr. Alekperov said that based on extensive studies, "we are intimately familiar with the details" of West Qurna, and "there are really no unknowns with that field," even after years of neglect.
Quelle: The New York Times