By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Mar. 21�Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (WestLB) has arranged a $50 million loan for TNK-Ukraina, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tyumen Oil Co., to stabilize production of the Lysychansk (LiNOS) refinery in the Ukraine.
WestLB is arranging a 12-month revolving credit facility, to be partially guaranteed by Russian company Tyumen Oil. The facility will be syndicated with Raiffeisen Zentralbank and other banks.
Tyumen said the loan is the largest ever arranged for a private Ukrainian company without a sovereign guarantee.
TNK-Ukraina has begun a 5-year investment program to modernize the plant and exceed its 132 million bbl/year design capacity.
LiNOS is now producing 2 million bbl/month of refined products, including gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, polypropylene, and ethylene.
Tyumen also said it and Texaco Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding in November to consider the construction of a lubricant blending plant attached to the refinery.
Tyumen Oil, through TNK-Ukraina, acquired 67 percent of LiNOS' shares in July 2000 (OGJ Online, July 27, 2000). The deal marked its first non-Russian acquisition.
