U.S. extends license for sale of Lukoil's foreign assets to Feb 28
MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended the license that authorizes negotiations and entry into contingent contracts with Russian oil company Lukoil for the sale of Lukoil International GmbH (LIG) or any companies it controls, which is set to expire on January 17, until February 28.
The extension is being granted "provided that the performance of any such contract is made expressly contingent upon the receipt of separate authorization from" OFAC, the license posted on the agency's website states.
The license extends the deadline for transactions "that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the maintenance or wind down of operations, contracts, or other agreements of LIG Entities" until February 28.
In addition, all blocked accounts of LIG entities may be used, debited or credited for the authorized transactions.
OFAC also said that the Treasury Department will "evaluate any proposed sale of LIG based on factors that support U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives."
"OFAC expects that, at a minimum, the proposed transaction must: completely sever LIG's ties with Lukoil; block any funds owed to Lukoil until sanctions are lifted by placing them in an account subject to U.S. jurisdiction; and not provide a windfall to Lukoil, such as by providing up-front value to Lukoil, including through asset or share swaps," the agency said.
Furthermore, "condition of any future license for effectuating a sale of LIG, OFAC expects that it will require persons purchasing LIG's assets to seek OFAC review before further divestment of material LIG assets," it said.
OFAC also said it may revoke this general license "at any time, including if Lukoil and LIG do not appear to be engaging in good faith negotiations regarding the divestment of LIG or its assets.
The United States hit Lukoil with sanctions on October 22, 2025. However, OFAC, aware of potential Lukoil efforts to sell its international assets to non-blocked parties, issued a license that authorized such negotiations until December 13, and then extended it to January 17. Authorized activities include negotiations on terms for definitive agreements and financial, legal, or operational due diligence, including engagement of outside counsel or advisors.
After it was hit by UK sanctions last October 15 and U.S. sanctions a week later, Lukoil announced plans to sell its international assets. The company received and accepted an offer to buy its international arm from commodities trader Gunvor. However, the U.S. Treasury Department refused to approve the sale to Gunvor, saying it would not issue the trader a license to do business while the conflict in Ukraine continued. Gunvor therefore withdrew its offer.
After Gunvor was knocked out of the running, a whole line of potential buyers for Lukoil International formed. There were media reports of interest from U.S. majors Chevron Corp. and ExxonMobil , Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, private equity group Carlyle, Emirati conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC), billionaire Todd Boehly with a group of investors from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi-based Midad Energy and Austrian businessman Bernd Bergmair.
Lukoil is involved in projects in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Republic of the Congo, and has oil refineries in Bulgaria, Romania and the Netherlands. The company also has about 2,500 filling stations in 19 countries.
The proven oil and gas reserves of Lukoil's international projects totalled 1.345 trillion barrels of oil equivalent at the end of 2024. The company's international projects, not including West Qurna 2 in Iraq, produced 3.9 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate and 16.2 billion cubic meters of gas in 2024.
Crude processing at the group's European oil refineries fell 18% to 13.5 million tonnes in 2024 due to the sale of the ISAB refinery in Italy in May 2023. Retail sales of oil products abroad totalled 4.2 million tonnes in 2024.
The United Kingdom has authorized transactions with Lukoil's international assets until February 26. OFAC has extended authorization for the operation of the company's filling stations outside of Russia until April 29, 2026.
A number of Lukoil's international projects were granted exemptions from the UK and U.S. sanctions, including the development of the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields in Kazakhstan and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).
