Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry submits request to U.S. OFAC regarding buyout of Lukoil's stake in joint projects
ASTANA. Jan 28 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan has submitted a request to the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding the buyout of Lukoil's stake in joint projects, Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said.
"We already said at the end of last year that we have a preemptive right under law to exercise our right to buy out the stake if Lukoil sells the assets in Kazakhstan. The Energy Ministry has sent the corresponding request to OFAC," Akkenzhenov told reporters.
Akkenzhenov said that the ministry is considering options to buy out the stake that are not necessarily tied to cash payment.
"The roads to buy out the stake may vary, and they do not necessarily have to be tied to actual cash payment at the time of the buyout. There are various forms to buy out the share package, including some kind of deferred payment or through proceeds from raw material sales. There are many options, and we are considering them all," Akkenzhenov said.
Last December, Akkenzhenov said that Kazakhstan has a priority right to purchase Lukoil's assets in the country in accordance with Kazakh legislation.
Lukoil was included in the U.S. sanctions list on October 22, 2025. Subsequently, OFAC, aware of potential efforts to sell the Russian company's foreign assets to unblocked legal entities, issued a license until December 13. Permitted activities included negotiating the terms of final agreements, financial and legal due diligence, and engaging third-party advisors and consultants.
OFAC may revoke the license "at any time, including if Lukoil and LIG [Lukoil International GmbH, which owns the oil company's foreign assets] do not appear to be engaging in good faith negotiations regarding the divestment of LIG or its assets," OFAC said.
Lukoil, after the imposition of U.S. and UK sanctions (the latter on October 15) against the company, announced plans to sell its international assets. The company received and accepted an offer to buy its international arm from commodities trader Gunvor, and the key terms of the deal were agreed upon by the parties. However, the U.S. Treasury Department refused to approve the sale to Gunvor, saying it would not issue the trader a license to do business while the conflict in Ukraine continued. Gunvor therefore withdrew its offer.
After Gunvor dropped out of the discussion, a whole line of potential buyers for Lukoil International formed. There were media reports of interest from U.S. majors Chevron Corp. and ExxonMobil, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, private equity group Carlyle, Emirati conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC), and billionaire Todd Boehly with a group of investors from the United Arab Emirates, and Austrian businessman Bernd Bergmair.
Lukoil is involved in projects in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Republic of the Congo, and has oil refineries in Bulgaria, Romania and the Netherlands. The company also has about 2,500 filling stations in 19 countries. The proven oil and gas reserves of Lukoil's international projects totalled 1.345 trillion barrels of oil equivalent at the end of 2024. The company's international projects, not including West Qurna 2 in Iraq, produced 3.9 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate and 16.2 billion cubic meters of gas in 2024. Crude processing at the group's European oil refineries fell 18% to 13.5 million tonnes in 2024 due to the sale of the ISAB refinery in Italy in May 2023. Retail sales of oil products abroad totalled 4.2 million tonnes in 2024.
The United Kingdom has authorized transactions with Lukoil's international assets until February 26. OFAC has extended authorization for the operation of the company's filling stations outside of Russia until April 29, 2026. A number of Lukoil's international projects were granted exemptions from the UK and U.S. sanctions, including the development of the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields in Kazakhstan and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).
