By Nerijus Adomaitis (Reuters) -Russia's Lukoil is selling its international assets after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the company. Washington refused to approve the sale of assets to Swiss commodity
Lukoil's Global Asset Sales: Potential Buyers and Key Details
By Nerijus Adomaitis
(Reuters) -Russia's Lukoil is selling its international assets after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the company.
Washington refused to approve the sale of assets to Swiss commodity trader Gunvor, throwing Lukoil's operations in disarray and leading to a scramble of potential buyers.
The U.S. Treasury cleared potential buyers to talk to Lukoil until December 13. They will need separate approval for specific deals. U.S. oil major Chevron is studying options to buy some global assets of Lukoil, sources have said. U.S. private equity firm Carlyle is also exploring options.
Below are details about Lukoil's international assets:
ESTIMATED VALUE
Lukoil's international assets, spanning upstream oil and gas projects, refining, and more than 2,000 filling stations across Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and the Americas, are estimated to be worth about $22 billion.
The company produces 0.5 million barrels of oil per day outside of Russia, or 0.5% of global oil output, in countries such as Iraq, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
UPSTREAM OPERATIONS
Middle East
Lukoil's biggest foreign asset is a 75% operational stake in Iraq's West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world's largest.
Lukoil has declared force majeure at the field after Iraq halted all cash and crude payments to the company. Iraqi officials said two Western and one Chinese company were interested in buying Lukoil's stake.
Lukoil also has a 60% stake in Iraq's Block 10 development which includes the Eridu field west of Basra. Lukoil's partner in the block, Japan's Inpex, has said it is discussing future steps with the Russian company.
In Egypt, Lukoil holds a 50% stake in the West Esh El Mallaha (WEEM) and WEEM Extension oilfields alongside Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum. It also holds a 24% stake in the Meleiha concession while Italy's Eni holds the remainder.
In the UAE, it holds 10% of the Ghasha concession, one of Abu Dhabi's largest gas developments, operated by ADNOC.
Central Asia
Lukoil holds 13.5% in Karachaganak and 5% in Tengiz - major Kazakh oil and gas projects operated by Western majors.
It also has a 12.5% stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which exports oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea.
Lukoil also owns nearly 20% of the BP-operated Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
It also operates the South-West Gissar gas field in Uzbekistan and holds a 90% stake in the Kandym fields development near the country's border with Turkmenistan.
Africa and Latin America
Lukoil has a 38% interest in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block off Ghana, which includes the Pecan oilfield development, 25% in Eni-operated gas block Marine XII, and 18% in Chevron-operated exploration block OML 140 off Nigeria.
In Mexico, Lukoil has stakes in offshore blocks where it partners with Eni, as well as a 50% stake in the Amatitlan block, operated by Petrolera de Amatitlan SAPI de CV.
REFINING ASSETS
In Bulgaria, Lukoil owns the 190,000 bpd Neftohim Burgas refinery, the largest in the Balkans. The Bulgarian government has made legal changes to seize and sell the assets.
The U.S. Treasury has allowed transactions involving Lukoil in Bulgaria until April 29.
In Romania, Lukoil owns the 48,600 bpd Petrotel refinery, the country's third-largest. Romania could take over the refinery, the country's president has said.
Sanctions have also stymied Lukoil's plans to drill exploration wells off Romania.
In the Netherlands, Lukoil owns a 45% stake in the 180,000 bpd Zeeland refinery, operated as a joint venture with France’s TotalEnergies.
FUEL RETAIL BUSINESS
In Finland, Lukoil owns Teboil, one of Finland's largest fuel retailers with approximately 430 stations. Teboil expects Lukoil to divest the chain.
In Moldova, Lukoil owns the only plane-refuelling facility at the country's only international airport in Chisinau.
In the United States, Lukoil has about 200 Lukoil-branded petrol stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Russia's President Vladimir Putin visited one of the stations in New York in 2003.
Lukoil is one of the top retail players in Moldova and Bulgaria, operates around 600 stations in Turkey and over 300 in Romania. The U.S. has allowed transactions with all Lukoil-controlled retail service businesses until December 13.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, Olesya Astakhova and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow, Robert Harvey and Anna Hirtenstein in London, America Hernandez in Paris, Essi Lehto and Elviira Luoma in Finland, Georgi Slavov and Stoyan Nenov in Bulgaria. Editing by Mark Potter)
