Lukoil Croatia leases filling stations in Zagreb, with the option to buy

If the outlets prove profitable, Lukoil Croatia plans to buy them after the 10-year lease expires. Both Lukoil Croatia and Rox declined to comment. The value of the two filling stations is estimated at around 3.0 million euro ($4.1 million) each.

Some 600 filling stations currently operate across Croatia with around 60 of them owned by smaller players.

Russian oil major Lukoil entered the Croatian retail market in 2008 with the acquisition of local privately-owned fuel retailer Europa-Mil for an undisclosed price. The company currently runs a network of 21 filling stations in Croatia.

Oil and gas company INA was the biggest fuel retailer in Croatia with 438 outlets at the end of 2009. Another major player is OMV Hrvatska which has 61 outlets, according to figures from its website.