MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) - Lukoil aims to buy PrikarpatZapadtrans from Transneft, Vedomosti reported on Thursday with reference to the letter by Vagit Alekperov, the president of Lukoil, sent to the Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 27.
According to Vedomosti, Putin has approved the purchase. Once the deal is concluded, the pipelines of PrikarpatZapadtrans will be operated by a consortium of Russian and European companies. Lukoil has the control over the venture.
PrikarpatZapadtrans, owned by JSC subsidiary Yugo-Zapad Transnefteproduct, is a member of JSC Group's Transneft. "It operates the diesel pipeline from Russian and Belarussian producers to Ukraine and to the European Union, particularly to Hungary", Vedomosti reported.
In July, the representative of Transneft, Igor Demin, told RIA Novosti that the company has restarted diesel fuel pumping via Ukraine in the direction of Hungary. According to monthly results the pumping amouts to 35,000 tons.
Transneft's property rights over the pipeline have been contested since 2005. In 2011 the economic court of the Rivne Oblast gave those rights to Ukraine. Nevertheless, in April 2014 the Rivne Oblast economic court of appeal revoked the decision and dismissed the matter.
