Two US "giants" Chevron and Quantum Capital Group are auctioning to seize control of the international asset portfolio worth about 22 billion USD of Lukoil - Russia's second largest oil and gas corporation, according to the Financial Times. This proposal is said to have received support signals from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Washington has imposed sanctions on Lukoil since October last year, within the framework of economic pressure on Russia related to the conflict in Ukraine.
Sanctions forced Lukoil to divest from all operations abroad, turning the group's asset portfolio spanning many continents into "compulsory goods to sell".
Due to the direct control of the US Treasury Department, all transactions related to Lukoil require a special license. The negotiation deadline is currently only extended until January 17, making the race for assets of the Russian corporation rushed and heavily political.
Chevron and Quantum not only aim for parts but also want to acquire the entire international portfolio of Lukoil. This asset package includes 3 oil refineries in Europe, shares in oil and gas fields in Iraq, Kazakhstan, some African countries, Mexico, and a network of more than 2,000 retail gas stations globally - a complete energy ecosystem from exploitation to distribution.
We are looking for a way to divest and put the ownership of these assets in the hands of a US owner and operator, in a long-term, irreversible way" - a senior US official said.
The race for Lukoil's assets is not only Chevron - Quantum consortium. Many other names are also said to be closely monitoring developments, including ExxonMobil, Hungarian state-owned oil and gas corporation MOL, International Holding Company of the UAE, Carlyle investment fund, and Midad Energy of Saudi Arabia.
Previously, a proposal from the Swiss energy trading group Gunvor Group collapsed in November, after the US Treasury Department accused the business of having ties to the Kremlin.
For its part, Russia has continuously condemned Western sanctions as illegal and politically motivated, warning that they will backfire and seriously damage international trade.
After the deal with Gunvor collapsed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Lukoil's case is evidence that the "illegal trade barriers" imposed by the US are distorting the global market.
Meanwhile, Chevron itself is not a "flawed" name. This corporation is involved in a decades-long legal battle related to serious environmental pollution allegations from the time Texaco was operating in the Amazon region of Ecuador, with a $9.5 billion compensation ruling issued in 2011 but still controversial.
Chevron also frequently faces criticism about environmental records, operating incidents and accusations of "greening" the image of the business.
If the deal is successful, this will be one of the largest cross-border energy asset transfers since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, and mark a decisive step by the US in redistributing ownership of global oil and gas resources - not only through market power, but also through sanctions and geo-economic policies.
