Lukoil will cease operations in Moldova due to US sanctions

The Russian fuel company Lukoil will cease operations in Moldova on November 21 this year due to US sanctions, Moldovan Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu announced on Friday.

– The termination of the company's operations is due to sanctions imposed by the United States – Junghietu said on Friday, quoted by Reuters.

Earlier, on October 23, the Moldovan minister stated that there was no risk of fuel shortages due to American sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft.

According to Junghiet, Lukoil has a network of its own gas stations in Moldova, supplies the oil market, supplies aviation fuel to Moldovan airports and is the owner of the country's only airport fuel warehouse and an aircraft refueling station.

The minister noted that Moldova has asked the US for temporary consent to Lukoil's operations until this problem is resolved, so that the country's fuel supply is not disrupted.

He added that Moldova rejected Lukoil's proposal to sell the airport infrastructure to another company.

The Russian company also has problems in other countries. According to the Finnish portal Helsingin Sanomat, also Teboil gas station chain, owned by Lukoil, is experiencing fuel shortages due to sanctions imposed by the US. A similar situation applies to the company's assets, including: in Iraq and Switzerland.

On October 22, the US Ministry of Finance announced the imposition of sanctions on the Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil and their 34 subsidiaries.e. The restrictions cut off companies from American technology and expose companies doing business with Russian giants to secondary sanctions.

In connection with this sanctions package, Lukoil announced last week that it would sell its foreign assets to the oil trading group Gunvor. However, Gunvor spokesman Seth Pietras said on Thursday that the company withdrew its offer to purchase these assets due to the US Department of Treasury's announcement that it would not approve the agreement. The approval of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury is required to finalize the transaction. (PAP)

mw/ mad/