The president of LUKoil, Russia's second largest oil company and second largest gas producer, said Thursday that the company's access to finances may be limited due to political tensions with the West over the crisis in Ukraine.
The situation "may limit us in our access to finances, there is that threat," LUKoil chief Vagit Alekperov told journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Interfax reported.
LUKoil in February received a $200 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to develop its assets in the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan, the second installment of a loan totaling $380 million, Prime news agency reported.
The company is already suffering from its reduced investment rating, Alekperov added, which "has cut off a certain segment of shareholders who could invest in the company."