Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Lukoil, Russia’s largest non- state oil producer, may start trading naphtha and resume dealing in gasoline in Asia, a senior company executive said today.

The company stopped trading gasoline and focused on fuel oil amid a decline in refining profits for so-called clean products. When the “market structure” improves, this will change, said Gati al-Jebouri, Chief Executive Officer of Litasco, or Lukoil International Trading & Supply Co, a wholly owned trading unit.

“We were doing gasoline and we were very successful at it -- at one time we were one of the largest gasoline blenders in the region,” Al-Jebouri said in Singapore, where he is attending the Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference. “That was during the time when the naphtha spreads enabled us to make profits.”

Naphtha, refined from crude oil, is closely tied to gasoline as refiners use naphtha to “blend” into the motor fuel. Profits for making gasoline have declined by 168 percent over the past 12 months, according to Bloomberg data.

“As you know the spreads have moved and it’s no longer a highly profitable business,” Al-Jebouri said.

There are also “opportunities” in trading liquefied petroleum gas in Asia, Al-Jebouri said. He wouldn’t say when Litasco, which runs its regional operations from Singapore, may start trading the product, which is used as fuel for cooking and public transportation in Asia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yee Kai Pin in Singapore at kyee13@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 4, 2009 00:09 EST