The United States has extended for the fourth time on Monday the deadline given to companies to negotiate with the Russian company Lukoil for the purchase of its assets abroad, following the sanctions imposed by Washington on the energy company last year. The Office of Foreign Assets Control has extended this time by one month, until May 1, the deadline given to companies interested in purchasing foreign assets worth about $22 billion. Washington imposed sanctions in October on Lukoil, the second-largest Russian oil producer, and Rosneft, its main producer, to reduce Moscow’s ability to fund its war against Ukraine.
Among the parties interested in these assets are the American private equity company Carlyle, the American oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp, the Abu Dhabi International Holding Company, and the Austrian investor Bernd Bergmair, former majority owner of an adult entertainment group that includes the website Pornhub.
Any specific agreement reached with Lukoil regarding the assets will need to be approved by OFAC. The Trump administration has slowed down the sale of Lukoil’s international assets to put pressure on Russia in peace talks in Ukraine, according to sources cited by Reuters in February.
