By Anna Hirtenstein, Shariq Khan and Dmitry Zhdannikov
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Russian energy major Lukoil has filed for an extension to the U.S. Treasury’s deadline which prohibits transactions with the Russian company after November 21, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) last month announced new sanctions targeting Lukoil and Rosneft, ratcheting up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
OFAC also issued a general license that gave companies until November 21 to complete their business deals with Lukoil, including any acquisitions of the Moscow-headquartered oil company’s international assets.
Lukoil is seeking an extension as it needs more time to close existing commitments and study offers for its sprawling global network of oil and gas producing, refining and trading assets, the sources said.
Lukoil and OFAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lukoil, which accounts for about 2% of global oil output, had confirmed on October 27 that it was seeking buyers for its international assets and could seek an extension of the OFAC license if necessary.
The Russian company had agreed to a sale of its international assets to Swiss commodities trader Gunvor, but that deal collapsed earlier this month after the U.S. Treasury signaled Washington’s opposition to it.
Since then, Lukoil’s international operations have faced growing disruptions, forcing the company to declare force majeure at Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oilfield, its largest international asset.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Anna Hirtenstein in London, Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang)
