Oil companies plan to acquire the network of „Lukoil“ gas stations in Romania, except for the refinery in Ploiesti, hotnews.ro reported, citing sources.
Buyers are not interested in refineries with outdated capacities that require large investments. Another reason is that the refinery has been refining high-sulfur „Ural“ crude oil since 1998, which necessitated the installation of additional equipment. Potential buyers who process other types of crude oil do not need this equipment.
Interest in acquiring the network of gas stations, on the other hand, is high. The main SOCAR Romania CEO Ramin Aliyev told the portal that “Romania has too few gas stations“ – 2,500, fewer than neighboring Bulgaria, which has over 3,000, despite its population being three times smaller. The portal's sources point to the American investment company Carlyle, as well as Mol and Hellenic, as potential buyers of the gas station chain.
In October, the US Treasury Department included the oil company Lukoil and its subsidiaries in a new package of US sanctions.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin later emphasized, the new US restrictions will not significantly affect the country's “economic well-being“. Putin also pointed out that the sanctions are a hostile act against Moscow that “does not strengthen Russian-American relations, which are only now starting to recover”.