"I can confirm the information Lukoil has presented, but we have no further comment at this time," writes Seth Thomas Pietras, spokesperson at Gunvor, in an email to TT.
“Does not trade in Russian crude oil”
He emphasizes that the settlement does not involve any assets in Russia and has nothing to do with Russian oil or Russian raw materials.
“Gunvor does not trade in Russian crude oil,” he writes.
According to Lukoil's press release, Gunvor has made an offer that Lukoil has accepted, but for the transaction to be completed, certain conditions must be met. Among other things, the US sanctions authority Ofac must give the go-ahead.
Lukoil is Russia's second-largest oil producer. Ahead of the deal with Gunvor, the company announced earlier this week that it has begun negotiations with potential buyers of the group's international assets - which are grouped together in a company called Lukoil International, headquartered in Austria. This comes after the Trump administration last week imposed sanctions that make it difficult for Lukoil to do business outside of Russia.
Lukoil International – which reported equity of approximately SEK 200 billion in 2023 – has around a hundred subsidiaries in 50 different countries, Bloomberg reports, citing the company's profile on the social network Linkedin.
This includes the oil trading company Litasco, with offices in Dubai and Geneva. But it also has stakes in oil and gas projects in eleven countries outside Russia, including former Soviet countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but also in the Middle East and Africa.
Gas stations in the United States
The assets also include a chain that operates gas stations in 20 countries, including the United States, as well as refinery assets in Europe.
The oil trading group Gunvor, with Swedish billionaire Torbjörn Törnqvist as co-founder, CEO and major owner, is one of the world's largest players in the trade of oil products.
Gunvor co-founder Gennady Timchenko stepped down as a major owner of Gunvor after he ended up on the US sanctions list in 2014 in the wake of Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
