Lukoil will have “an obligation” to sell its local refinery Petrotel before next month’s deadline, Romania’s state secretary for energy, Cristian Bușoi, told Politico in the context of the sanctions set by the US against two Russian oil companies.
“We would be happy not to have Lukoil anymore,” Busoi added.
The Russian group has been under investigation in Romania for financial fraud, but the prosecutors have eventually dropped their accusations. With a capacity of only 2.4 million tonnes of crude per year, Lukoil’s Petrotel refinery has not been upgraded recently.
Economy minister Radu Miruţă told Stiripesurse.ro that the sanctions will be discussed at the level of the European Commission, which negotiates directly with the US.
The details of the “tremendous” sanctions announced on October 22 by US president Donald Trump are still being worked out. But in theory, they threaten to force the two firms to sell their assets and end their remaining oil pipeline supplies to Europe, according to Politico.
All Lukoil subsidiaries, including those in Romania, will be affected by the entry into force of US sanctions on November 21, provided that the current form of sanctions is maintained.
This would mean that any financial transaction with Lukoil subsidiaries, including those in Romania, may automatically attract US sanctions on the entities taking part in the transaction – banks, companies that transport or buy/sell goods, products, and services in relation to Lukoil.
Lukoil Romania has a retail and distribution network of 320 gas stations in Romania, while it operates the Petrotel refinery in Ploiești.
Most likely, the network of 320 gas stations will also have to be divested by Lukoil.
However, selling Lukoil’s subsidiaries will not be an easy task, as they are already on sale, and no buyer has shown up. Bulgaria has been trying for several years, without success, to broker the sale of the Burgas refinery, considered more attractive than Petrotel.
Globally, Lukoil and Rosneft are responsible for almost two-thirds of Russia’s daily oil exports, and German chancellor Friedrich Merz has already said that Rosneft’s German subsidiary will be the subject of talks with the US for exemptions from sanctions, according to Cursdeguvernare.ro.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Facebook/Rafinaria Petrotel Lukoil)
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