The foreign oil refineries and other assets of Russian company Lukoil are attracting potential buyers as time runs out to strike cheap deals before US sanctions come into force on 21 November. Kazakhstan’s state firm KazMunayGas is studying a bid for Lukoil’s assets in the country, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Shell is interested in Lukoil deepwater assets in Ghana and Nigeria, two other sources said. Lukoil may try to emulate Russian oil firm Rosneft whose three German refineries were put under a trusteeship in 2022 – controlled by Berlin but still owned by Rosneft. Lukoil’s attempt to sell foreign assets to the Swiss-based oil trader Gunvor was scrapped after opposition from the US treasury which called Gunvor the Kremlin’s “puppet”.

Source: The Guardian November 13, 2025 14:06 UTC