LUKoil has reached an agreement to sell its filling stations in the Czech Republic to Royal Dutch/Shell

LUKoil has reached an agreement to sell its filling stations in the Czech Republic to Royal Dutch/Shell. The sale of the three filling stations ends LUKoil’s involvement in the Czech market (and brings the number of Shell stations in the country to 144). The two companies did not disclose the selling price, but Prospect Investment analyst Dmitrii Tsaregorodtsev told "Kommersant-Daily" they likely went for "around $3 million." Though the deal represents a drop in the bucket for the multibillion-dollar oil company, it could be the harbinger of things to come. Gennadii Krasovskii, who heads LUKoil’s investor-relations department, told "Vedomosti" on 16 December that the company plans to rid itself of unprofitable assets while increasing its presence on markets where it is doing well. Aton analyst Timerbulat Karimov told "Kommersant-Daily" that LUKoil's filling stations throughout Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and the former USSR could go on the block. Observers queried by the newspaper fingered stations in Bulgaria, Poland, and the Baltics -- LUKoil owns more than 100 stations in each location -- as likely candidates for sale.