Energy, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Transport

“I think Lukoil’s emissaries in Lithuania are not limited to just Lukoil itself,” she said when asked whether the oil company’s decision to sell its Lithuanian chain of filling stations would reduce its influence in the country.

In September 2014, speaking about the proposed legislative amendments lowering fines for large companies, Grybauskaite said that the authors of such amendments were thus contributing to Russia’s “military aggression in Europe” and vetoed the proposal.

She then said that "Lukoil's money is used to finance the Kremlin's military aggression in Europe" and that the authors of the amendments were thus contributing to that "military aggression".

Lukoil president Vagit Alekperov said at the end of last year that the company was selling its chains of filling stations in Lithuania and Latvia due to “quite serious anti-Russian sentiment” in those countries.

Nerijus Maciulis, chief economist with Swedbank Lithuania, earlier told BNS that the political situation might have been one of the factors behind this decision by Lukoil but it had not been decisive. As the main reasons, he mentioned changes in the oil market, the slump in oil prices and the slump in Lukoil’s prices and profitability.

In May 2014, the Lithuanian Competition Council slapped a fine of 3.4 mln. euros on Lukoil Baltija for the takeover of 16 filling stations without regulatory clearance.