Lukoil Agrees to Sell Foreign Assets to Carlyle

Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement to sell most of its foreign assets to the U.S. investment firm Carlyle Group, a move aimed at complying with American sanctions imposed to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

The deal involves LUKOIL International GmbH, the unit managing the company's overseas operations, valued by analysts at approximately $22 billion. It excludes Lukoil's interests in Kazakhstan, including a 5 percent stake in the Tengiz oil field operated by a Chevron-led joint venture. Lukoil stated that the agreement is not exclusive and that it continues negotiations with other potential buyers. The transaction requires regulatory approvals, including from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces sanctions. Carlyle confirmed the conditional nature of the deal, pending due diligence.

The U.S. added Lukoil and state-owned Rosneft to its sanctions list in October as part of efforts to curb Russia's oil revenues, which fund the government's budget and military operations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the companies as part of the "Kremlin's war...