Oil and Gas Industry News @ 5th August 2014

PRESS-RELEASE
04.08.2014
	LUKOIL CONTINUES OPTIMIZATION OF ASSET STRUCTURE IN CENTRAL EUROPE  OAO LUKOIL has signed contracts with MOL Plc. and Norm Benzinkút Kft on the sale of assets in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Slovnaft Česká Republica, Spol. S.R.O. (a subsidiary of MOL Plc.) will buy from LUKOIL a network of 44 gas-filling stations located in the Czech Republic’s territory. Norm Benzinkút Kft will purchase LUKOIL’s filling-station networks in Hungary (75 stations) and the Slovak Republic (19 stations). Both deals are expected to be closed before the end of 2014. The decision to sell the assets was taken as part of the effort to optimize LUKOIL’s business in petroleum-product marketing. Source of Information Russia's Lukoil to sell 44 petrol stations in Czech Republic Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia's largest private crude producer Lukoil agreed to sell 44 petrol stations in the Czech Republic to Hungarian oil company MOL , the two companies said. Lukoil also said it would sell 75 stations in Hungary and 19 stations in Slovakia to Norm Benzinkut Kft. "The decision to sell the assets was taken as part of the effort to optimize Lukoil's business in petroleum product marketing," the Russian company said in a statement. MOL aims to expand its more than 1,700 filling stations in Central Europe and the Balkans and earlier this year bought Italian Eni's Czech, Slovak and Romanian units. After buying Lukoil's network, MOL will have 318 filling stations in the Czech Republic, making it one of the leading participants in that market, it said. (Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk and Sandor Peto; editing by Jane Baird)