US and British sanctions have paralysed the operations of foreign companies owned by russian giant Lukoil

This was reported by Reuters, citing sources.

According to them, the Iraqi state-owned company Somo cancelled the shipment of three batches of oil produced by Lukoil as part of its share in the West Qurna-2 field, citing concerns over US and UK sanctions. Lukoil owns a 75% stake in the field, which has a capacity of 480,000 barrels per day, with the remainder owned by Iraq's North Oil Company.

Litasco (Geneva, Switzerland), Lukoil's trading arm, is experiencing difficulties in chartering vessels as British ship brokers refuse to work with the company. Litasco has reduced its staff due to sanctions.

In Finland, where Lukoil owns the Teboil petrol station chain, the russian company has encountered a refusal by banks to service its operations. As a result, about a thousand employees and operators of Teboil petrol stations may lose their jobs in the coming weeks.

Due to sanctions, ‘all of Lukoil's international activities are effectively paralysed,’ Torbjörn Törnqvist, CEO of Norway's Gunvor, which plans to buy Lukoil's foreign assets, told the Financial Times.

‘No one can do business with them. Many jobs are at risk, and the operation of oil refineries could be seriously disrupted,’ he said.

According to The Moscow Times, Lukoil's foreign ‘oil empire’ includes refineries in Bulgaria, Romania and the Netherlands, a network of petrol stations in the European Union, as well as production facilities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Egypt, the UAE, Latin America, Western and Central Africa.

Source: Economic Pravda, Reuters