No. of Recommendations: 3
Seems that Lukoil had been talking to Carlyle Group about an asset sale last winter:
US Carlyle Group agrees to buy Lukoil's global assets after sanctions pressure
By Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova
January 29, 2026reuters.com - Russias lukoil agrees sell international assets carlyleSon of a gun. Seems that deal ran into some pushback:
September 21 2026
Carlyle’s stalled Lukoil deal leaves refineries idle in tight market
A deal to transfer Lukoil’s $20bn overseas oil business to US private equity group Carlyle has been stuck in the US government approval process for almost 10 months, leaving refining capacity idle even as global fuel prices surge.
The proposed transaction, which would sever the Russian oil company from assets across 17 countries, has received clearance from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) but is awaiting final approval from the Trump administration according to people familiar with the process.Financial Times: Content 708699ba 442b 46a2 9de7 805fb3ddaf24So, after the Trump regime blocks an "arm's length" deal between Carlyle and Lukoil, Trump cronies enter the picture, the same cronies who are "negotiating" with Putin about the disposition of Ukraine.
Recall, a year ago, Trump was all in on supporting Ukraine, if Ukraine signed over a big chunk of it's mineral wealth. Ukraine was not willing to be Rogered as hard as Trump wanted.
It'a all about which side will enrich Trump the most.
Welcome to life in a banana republic.
Steve
