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Kiev-headquartered Vetek Group of Companies (Vetek) has signed a long-term contract with commodity trading companyTrafigura for the supply of high sulphur fuel oil produced at the Odessa Oil Refinery.

The main type of crude oil used by the Odessa Refinery is Urals crude, which is shipped from Sheskharis oil terminal, located in Novorossiysk.

In a statement, Vetek said that, in the near future, the Odessa facility would increase its crude processing levels, and, as a result, the volume of crude oil purchases.

Crude oil deals are carried out via trade financing from the Russian bank VTB, Vetek added.

The Odessa oil refinery was acquired by Vetek LLC in July 2013 when it agreed a deal with previous owner, Russian oil giant, OAO Lukoil. As a result of the transaction, Vetek acquired a stake of more than 99 percent in the refinery.

Commenting on its commercial objectives after the acquisition last year, Vetek said that the newly acquired business would form part of a closed loop for the production and supply of oil and petroleum products to end customers. "We are ready to work with large oil traders and we are now at the the final stage of very productive discussions with our partners," Evgeny Kalinin, Executive Director of Vetek, said in July, adding that the Odessa oil refinery was in 'excellent condition' and in a 'good location'.

Vetek says that its business strategy is focused on investment in projects with high growth potential in Ukraine, CIS and Europe, as well as the development of socially important projects in Ukraine, including restoration of the refining sector. The consolidation of energy assets and operations under the Vetek brand started in 2013.

Vetek's strategy is to create a vertically integrated business, which will include oil exploration, refining and product sales with the aim of becoming a leading player in the Ukrainian market, as well as expanding its trading operations in the Black Sea region.

Vetek runs its processing and refinery operations at the PJSC Odessa Oil Refinery, which has the capacity to reach up to 2,5 million tonnes per year and has a product portfolio that includes fuel oil, jet oil, bitumen, Euro-4 and Euro-5 grade gasoil and VGO

The group's supply and trading operations are run by the Swiss trading companies Vetek Trading S.A., Vetek Gas Trading and Supply S.A.. The Ukrainian domestic sales operations are run via Vetek Trading House. The retail operations are principally conducted by Vetek Nefteproduct LLC. The retail operations in Germany are represented by Sparchwein Gas (Germany).