Politico: EU moves to cut ties with Russia’s Lukoil amid US sanctions

A senior European Union official has indicated that Brussels is seeking to “disentangle” itself from Russian energy firm Lukoil, which was sanctioned by the United States this week but not included in the EU’s latest sanctions package.

The official told Politico that the EU was “working towards” a transaction ban on Lukoil, but noted that the process is complex due to the company’s extensive footprint across Europe. Lukoil — which is privately owned, unlike state-backed Rosneft and Gazprom — operates refineries in Bulgaria and Romania as well as retail outlets throughout the continent.

“We need to find a way to disengage on these items before we can fully impose sanctions,” the official said.

On October 22, Trump announced “tremendous” new sanctions targeting Russia’s Lukoil and its state-owned Rosneft, marking the first US sanctions on Moscow since he took office. 

According to David Fyfe, chief economist at the Argus media consultancy, Rosneft and Lukoil together account for around two-thirds of the 4.4 million barrels of crude oil that Russia exports daily.

By Sabina Mammadli