Bloomberg: Lukoil's Oil Empire Will Be Shared By Arab Sheikhs And American Energy Giants

Trump wants to limit the range of potential bidders for the deal.

"Lukoil" built a successful international oil business, which is now falling apart because of the war that Vladimir Putin has unleashed in Ukraine. Companies from various countries are considering buying the Russian giant's assets, but Washington prefers to see them acquired by a U.S. company.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) from the UAE is among those interested in Lukoil's assets, as well as Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the two largest U.S. oil and gas companies, and U.S. private equity fund Carlyle Group, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. Washington has extended the license to sell Lukoil's foreign assets from November 21 to December 13.

The problem is that, according to one source Bloomberg, the Russian company prefers to sell them as a single package (that's why the deal with oil trader Gunvor was the most preferred option for it, but the U.S. immediately refused to approve it, calling Gunvor a "Kremlin puppet"). Potential buyers are interested in acquiring individual assets that will add to their portfolios in the most favorable way, because Lukoil owns different types of business in many regions of the world - from oil production and refining to gas stations and jet fuel storage.

One of the options to solve this problem is to conduct the transaction in two stages, Bloomberg writes: first, one buyer - for example, a financial company - will acquire all the assets, and then gradually resell them in parts to specialized buyers.

The key point is that the administration of Donald Trump would prefer that Lukoil's assets acquired by a U.S. company, informed sources told the agency. This could limit the range of potential participants in the deal. The US Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Exxon Mobil is considering options to acquire Lukoil's assets in Kazakhstan, where both companies have stakes in the Karachaganak and Tengiz fields, Reuters reported. Also, according to the agency, the largest U.S. oil and gas company may be interested in Iraq's West Qurna-2 field, Lukoil's most valuable asset. Exxon Mobil is familiar with local conditions: it was a longtime operator of the neighboring West Qurna-1 project before withdrawing from it last year.

Another U.S. company, Chevron, also operating in Kazakhstan, is also eyeing Lukoil's business in that country, according to Reuters.

It may also be interested in West Qurna-2, one of the largest oil fields in the world, where Lukoil has a 75% stake. Chevron had no significant operations in Iraq until recently, but has begun to ramp up its activity there, signing agreements in August 2025 to develop the Nassiriya and Balad oil fields.

Exxon and Chevron are exploring the possibility of buying Lukoil's stake in West Qurna-2, two sources told Bloomberg.

In the meantime, Emirati ADNOC is analyzing various Lukoil assets, and, according to the agency's sources, the Russian company's gas assets in Uzbekistan are of the greatest interest to it.

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