President Ilham Aliyev awards Lukoil CEO

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed the Order on awarding the "Dostlug" Order to Vahid Yusifovich Alakbarov.

The order states that Vahid Alakbarov, President of LUKOIL company, is awarded for special services rendered to the development of mutual relations between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation. 

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev also sent a congratulatory letter to Vahid Alakbarov.

"Dear Vahid Yusuf oglu,

I heartily congratulate you on your significant jubilee – the 70th anniversary.

Thanks to your professionalism and organizational talent, LUKOIL is today one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.

The long-term fruitful activity of LUKOIL company in our country makes a significant contribution to the expansion of Azerbaijani-Russian mutual economic relations and paves the way for the development and strengthening of friendly ties between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.

I wish you long life, the best of health, prosperity and new successes," the letter said.

Vahid Alakbarov is an Azerbaijani and Russian businessman, the president of the leading Russian oil company LUKOIL.

In 1990, Alakbarov was appointed deputy minister of the Oil and Gas Industry of the Soviet Union and became the youngest deputy energy minister in Soviet history.

As deputy minister of the oil and gas industry of the Soviet Union, he was engaged in the formation of the first vertically integrated state-owned energy company, Langepas-Uray-Kogalymneft.

In April 1993, Langepas-Uray-Kogalymneft became LUKOIL with Alakbarov as its president. He has remained president of LUKOIL since that time.

LUKOIL is among the world's most powerful oil companies. The LUKOIL Group has been operating in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector since 1994 and is represented in the country by two subsidiaries.

The Company has a 10 percent share in the Shah Deniz and South Caucasus Pipeline projects, and participates in the sale of petroleum products in the retail market of Azerbaijan through a network of about 70 filling stations operating under the LUKOIL brand name.

The Company also owns an oil depot that transships 120 thousand tons of oil products per year.