Lukoil sold its international assets, including those in Romania, to the American fund Carlyle Group

Russian oil group Lukoil announced that it had reached an agreement to sell Lukoil International GmbH, which holds the company’s foreign assets, to US private equity fund Carlyle Group, Reuters reports. The agreement does not include assets in Kazakhstan, the Russian energy producer said in a statement. Lukoil added that the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and that it is continuing discussions with other potential buyers in parallel. The financial terms were not disclosed. However, Lukoil’s total foreign assets are valued by analysts at approximately USD 22 billion.

“The agreement signed is not exclusive to the company and is subject to certain conditions precedent, such as obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, including permission from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department for the transaction with Carlyle,” Lukoil said in a press release.

Separately, US private equity fund Carlyle Group announced on Thursday that the agreement to purchase the international assets of Russian company Lukoil is conditional upon completion of due diligence procedures and obtaining approvals from regulatory bodies.

In a press release, Carlyle said its approach to Lukoil’s assets will focus on ‘ensuring operational continuity, preserving jobs, stabilising the asset base and supporting safe and reliable performance across the portfolio by providing dedicated oversight and international operational capabilities’.

Lukoil was added to the US sanctions list in October 2025 in response to slow progress in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. This move forced the Russian oil giant to sell its foreign assets. Under US sanctions, Lukoil had until February 28, 2026, to sell its foreign assets.

The US Treasury has so far blocked two attempts by Lukoil to sell its foreign assets, first to Swiss trader Gunvor in October last year, and then rejecting a proposed share swap deal in December by Xtellus Partners, the former US subsidiary of Russian bank VTB.

As Russia’s most internationally diversified oil company, Lukoil has stakes in refineries in Europe, significant holdings in oil fields from Iraq to Kazakhstan, and a network of 5,300 petrol stations in 20 countries. In Romania, Lukoil owns the Petrotel refinery and sells fuel through a network of 300 distribution stations.