The reaction of the Ministry of Energy, six days after the sanctioning of Lukoil by the US: An evaluation process will be started at the commission for the examination of foreign investments

The Ministry of Energy sent, on Thursday, a press release announcing that it has taken note of Lukoil's announcement regarding the sale of its assets. This is the Ministry's reaction sent six days after the US announced sanctions on the Lukoil group. The Ministry of Energy claims that it will be able to express “a further position only after full clarification of the shareholding structure and the origin of the capital of any potential investor”.

“We have taken note of the sanctions announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, an agency within the Treasury Department of the United States of America,” the Ministry of Energy said.

According to him, the position that the European Commission will adopt must be analyzed first. “Before making a decision, it is necessary to analyze the position that the European Union will adopt, considering the fact that Romania already applies the sanctions regime established at the European level and will act strictly within this framework,” the statement said.

The Ministry of Energy also sent that related to Lukoil's intention to sell its assets, an analysis will be made by the commission dealing with foreign investments.

“Also, we took note of the public statement of the Lukoil company regarding the intention to sell its international assets. As a result of this announcement, a transaction evaluation process can be started within the Commission for the Examination of Foreign Direct Investments (CEISD), according to the legislation in force,” the statement reads.

Ministry of Energy: We will be able to have a position only after clarifying the shareholding of a potential buyer

“We will be able to express a further position only after the complete clarification of the shareholding structure and the origin of the capital of any potential investor, in order to guarantee that the transaction is carried out in full compliance with the adopted sanctions packages and with Romania's economic security standards,” the statement added.

Lukoil, Russia's second largest oil company announced that it has received and accepted an offer for its overseas assets from Gunvor. This is a Cyprus-registered multinational that was co-founded in 2000 by an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, who sold his stake to his Swedish partner Torbjörn Törnqvist in 2014, the day before he was sanctioned by the US.

In Romania, Lukoil's most important assets are the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery and the Lukoil Romania network, with approximately 320 distribution stations, both of which are owned by Litasco, based in Switzerland.

The Petrotel Ploiesti refinery has been for sale for almost ten years, but the investors were not interested. One of the causes is the fact that the refinery has outdated facilities and requires very large investments, an oil specialist explained to HotNews.