The United States is extending by a month through May 1, 2026, the deadline for potential buyers to negotiate buying the foreign assets of Russia’s second-biggest oil producer, Lukoil, which the U.S. sanctioned in October to force Russia to negotiate peace in Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorized in a new general license negotiations of potential deals until May 1, provided that such agreements are approved by the OFAC in separate authorizations.
Earlier this year, Lukoil announced it had agreed to sell most of its international assets to private equity giant Carlyle.
However, the agreement is not exclusive and is subject to conditions such as the procurement of necessary regulatory approvals, including permission from the OFAC for the transaction with Carlyle.
Lukoil continues negotiations with other potential buyers, Russia’s second-largest oil producer noted in the press release at the end of January announcing the non-exclusive preliminary agreement with Carlyle.
In February, reports emerged that a consortium comprising Chevron and a group led by an investment bank continues negotiations with Lukoil and U.S. officials to buy the Russian firm’s international assets.
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The non-exclusivity of the preliminary agreement with Carlyle means that Chevron and other potential buyers remain in the race.
A tie-up of Chevron and Texas-based Quantum Energy Partners is one of the bidders still in talks to potentially buy Lukoil’s international assets, while investment bank Xtellus Partners leads another consortium with American billionaire Todd Boehly and the UAE’s Allied Investment Partners, multiple sources with knowledge of the ongoing talks told Reuters in February.
Following the U.S. sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, “as a result of Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine,” Lukoil announced in October it would sell all of its international assets, initiating a formal process to receive bids from potential buyers.
Lukoil’s foreign assets are estimated to be worth about $22 billion.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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