Lukoil Romania, the third largest player on the local fuel market, which owns around 300 petrol stations with over one billion euros in turnover, believes sales of refined products could continue their slide on the overall market in 2010, after last year saw a 6% decline in petrol and diesel oil sales on the Romanian market.

"If things remain as they are now until the end of the year, fuel sales will fall by around 2% on the market. For the time being there are no signs of a rebound as far as fuel demand is concerned, but sales tend to be lower in winter. But now things are more difficult because the winter has been very harsh and long, which has further affected the construction segment," explains Teodor Chirilescu, deputy general manager of Lukoil Romania.

The Russians at Lukoil are not the only ones to doubt the rebound of fuel consumption this year, with Petrom, the largest player on the market, being similarly pessimistic.