Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 14, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe US extends the negotiation license for Lukoil's foreign assets until February 28, amid sanctions. Potential buyers include Carlyle Group and Chevron.
By Timothy Gardner
Jan 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday extended a license by more than a month - until February 28 - for companies to talk with Russian energy company Lukoil about buying its foreign assets.
President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, Russia's two biggest energy companies, on October 22 as part of an effort to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine. Lukoil put its assets up for sale shortly after.
The company's global assets - which include oil fields, refineries and a network of retail gas stations - are worth about $22 billion and have drawn interest from a wide variety of entities including U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group and a group comprising oil major Chevron and Quantum Capital Group.
The extension of the general license issued by the U.S. Treasury, which had been due to expire on January 17, also allows interested parties to enter into contingent contracts for the sale of the assets and the wind-down of related work on them. It was the second extension of the deadline, with the first issued in December.
Due to the U.S. sanctions, the Treasury would need to approve any deals struck with Lukoil over its assets.
Lukoil has been hard-hit by the U.S. sanctions, with overseas operations disrupted from Iraq to Finland. The company had asked for an extension of the negotiations deadline so that it has more time to work on deals, sources previously told Reuters.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Bhargav Acharya and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Will Dunham)
Lukoil is a major Russian multinational energy corporation involved in oil and gas exploration, production, refining, and distribution.
Foreign assets refer to properties, investments, or resources owned by a company or individual outside their home country.
A negotiation license is a legal authorization that allows parties to engage in discussions or negotiations regarding a specific transaction.
Private equity is a form of investment where funds are directly invested in private companies or taken public through buyouts.
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