OREANDA-NEWS. October 08, 2010. TNK-BP and the Government of the Orel region signed an Agreement on Mutual Cooperation, which is yet another step in implementing the company’s regional development strategy. The signing ceremony attended by Alexander Kozlov, Governor of the Orel region, and Andrey Kozlov, TNK-BP Vice President, Regional Policy, took place at the Orel Economic Forum, reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

The document provides for extended cooperation between the parties aimed at further economic development, improving investment climate, and creation of favourable conditions for addressing the key social issues of the Orel region.

“Signature of Agreements is a traditional start of mutually beneficial cooperation between the company and the regions, Andrey Kozlov said. – Our many years of experience demonstrate that this practice allows building long-term partner relations with regional government authorities based on mutual trust, stability and predictability”.

According to Alexander Kurkin, Leader, Performance Unit Centre, Downstream, the company intends to construct a network of fifteen to twenty retail sites in the Orel region investing up to 1 bln rubles in this project. Recall that TNK-BP development strategy provides for increasing volumes of petroleum product sales including through expansion of the retail site network in new regions.

“Construction and operation of company retail site network in the Orel region will facilitate creation of new jobs in the region, increasing tax contributions to the regional budget and growing competition in the petroleum product market, which will lead to better quality of customer service”, Alexander Kurkin said.