Russian and Ukrainian pipeline operators Transneft and Ukrtransnafta have apparently made a deal for crude delivery to Ukraine in 2010, under which Moscow has supposedly agreed to pay 30% more in transit costs. The increased transit charges have prompted Vladimir Putin to accuse Kiev of ‘abuse‘. Transneft’s profit more than doubled year on year in the third quarter. Rosneft plans to up oil output by 4% in 2010, with increased drilling and the start of production at eastern Siberia’s Vankor field. The company will, according to Bloomberg, focus on exploration this year, after a spate of discoveries in 2009. Lukoil, in partnership with Norway’s Statoil, has come to an initial agreement with Iraq to develop the much-coveted 12.88 billion barrel West Qurna Phase 2 field. South Korea’s LG Group has won a tender to build a refinery in Turkmenistan. A senior official at oil firm Bashneft, in charge of keeping industrial secrets, was shot dead yesterday.