Russian energy company Lukoil entered a nonexclusive deal with United States-based equity firm Carlyle to sell Lukoil International GmbH, the unit that controls most of the company’s foreign assets.
The U.S. Treasury has set a deadline that Lukoil must exit its international holdings by Feb. 28, except operations in Kazakhstan, which are excluded from the transaction and will stay under Lukoil’s direct control.
New sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Kingdom in late 2025 increased pressure on Russia’s energy sector by directly targeting Rosneft and Lukoil, two of the latter country’s biggest oil companies. The measures expanded asset freezes, restricted financial transactions and seek to curb revenues linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine. At the same time, a package of European Union sanctions directly targeted refined products
Lukoil’s overseas portfolio includes integrated upstream and downstream assets in more than 30 countries, ranging from oilfield interests in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to major refining, lubricants and retail operations in Europe. The European operations include Litasco, a Geneva-based trading and logistics company that was a significant supplier of base oils before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia is a large base oil producer and before the war sent much of its base oil exports to Europe, but that trade was mostly cut off by sanctions protesting the invasion.
Bulgaria is home to Lukoil’s biggest refinery outside of Russia, which was seized by the Bulgarian state in November 2025.
Martin Vladimirov, director of the energy and climate program at the Center for the Study of Democracy, believes that the sanctions’ impact has been muted, particularly the latest EU package.
“Lukoil has been operating uninterruptedly, especially in the downstream market. With the exception of Lukoil’s Finnish subsidiary, which is shutting down, their business is not affected right now,” Vladimirov told Lube Report.
Although proceeds from sales cannot flow back to Russia, Vladimirov points out that existing contracts must still be honored.
“Until the EU directly sanctions Lukoil, this will not change,” he said, unless the company is named in the 20th sanctions package.
Lukoil has not released financial terms, although analysts value assets at about U.S. $22 billion, including in Kazakhstan. The agreement requires approval from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and Lukoil said talks with other potential buyers are continuing. Suitors are reported to have included Austrian businessman Bernd Bergmair, the former owner of Pornhub.