Lukoil agrees to sell international assets to US fund Carlyle
Russian oil company Lukoil has announced the conclusion of an agreement to sell its international assets to the American investment company Carlyle Group. As part of the agreement, LUKOIL International GmbH, which is wholly owned by Lukoil and holds the group's foreign assets, is to be sold, according to DW.
The company specified that assets in Kazakhstan are not included in the scope of the agreement and will remain the property of Lukoil, continuing to operate under existing licences. To complete the transaction, regulatory approvals must be obtained, including permission from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The press service also noted that negotiations with other potential buyers are ongoing.
The decision to sell international assets was made after the United States and the United Kingdom imposed blocking sanctions on Lukoil and its subsidiaries in October 2025 due to Russia's continued armed aggression against Ukraine. The sanctions effectively paralysed the company's participation in the management of foreign projects and financial transactions.
Swiss trader Gunvor had previously expressed interest in Lukoil's assets, but the deal fell through after Washington refused to grant the necessary licence. The company owns three oil refineries in Europe, stakes in production projects in a number of countries, and hundreds of petrol stations around the world. Regulators made an exception for Kazakhstan so as not to block oil production and exports from the Tengiz and Royal fields and the work of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
Source and photo: DW.
Oil, Lukoil, Carlyle Group. Ministry of Finance, USA.
