Photo Credit: http://www.lukoil.com

First, there’ve been cautious reports about its inability to sustain production voiced by Fitch Ratings.

The agency pointed to Lukoil’s recent purchase of Samara Nafta, an oil producer in the Volga District.

One of the reasons of the investment activity it said was the depletion of the company's brownfields in Western Siberia.

According to Fitch Ratings, the company has worked hard to reverse the sliding trend in the output, with some $7.3 billion spent on mergers and acquisitions between 2009 and 2012.

It needs new upstream and downstream assets to say on par with rising Rosneft, especially after it closed an unprecedented deal with BP on the purchase of TNK-BP.

Lukoil is considering large-scale capex for the development of the Bezhenov Shale, Russia’s giant shale deposit in Western Siberia estimated to contain up to two trillion barrels of oil.

Since the productions costs for shale deposits are generally higher, Lukoil is certain to be looking for new tax breaks from the government, Fitch Ratings added.

But it hasn’t all been that pessimistic.

Another rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, has lifted Lukoil one step to match the country’s BBB rating.

Unlike Fitch, it predicts that hydrocarbon production may “slightly increase” after output stabilized last year
The company points to the huge potential of Iraq’s West Qurna-2 oil field which will so go on stream.

This rating action created a positive technical background for the company’s new Eurobond issue where it raised $3 billion in its first sale in more than two years.

Over the past month, we’ve also heard of Lukoil’s getting ready for the installation of two supporting blocks for its ice-resistant stationary platform (IRP-1) under construction for the Vladimir Filanovsky field development in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea.

Furthemore, OGX Petroleo e Gas SA, is looking to sell a 40 percent stake to Lukoil.

According to Reuters, the Russia crude producer is interested in operating in Brazil to tap major off-shore reserves discovered in recent years.

And more positive news for the company’s image as Leonid Fedun is gettind ready FC Spartak for a new stadium, an IPO, and their first Champions League title.

And the most interesting piece of news is that Lukoil dropped its petrol prices across Russia by 0.5 roubles following a decline in world oil prices.

So it’s mixed news but definitely the outlook appears to be very positive. Russia-IC will continue to keep an eye on what’s happening with the Russian corporations, and if there’s anyone you want to know more about, drop us a line.