Romania to impose sanctions against Lukoil
The Russian oil company Lukoil is about to leave the Romanian market.
Bogdan Matei, 12.11.2025, 14:00
Romania will firmly apply the international economic sanctions targeting the Russian oil company Lukoil and will not request an extension of the November 21 deadline imposed by the United States for freezing assets and stopping all business with this company. The announcement was made by Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan, who said that the authorities are working on the necessary legal framework to allow sanctions to be imposed, but also aim to ensure the continuity of refining activities at Petrotel Ploieşti (south, owned by Russians), the trading of petroleum products and the protection of jobs for the 5,000 employees. Romania must quickly take control of the company to guarantee the implementation of these measures, the Minister added.
“It is natural that, by what we do, we no longer indirectly finance the Russian Federation, which is conducting this illegal war in Ukraine. We have already had official talks with company representatives, as well as with potential companies interested in acquiring the assets and business from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, who have expressed their intention to purchase them. There will be some inconveniences, because there is no interest from Lukoil to sell, but once certain rules are set, we will certainly not back down”.
The Romanian authorities’ announcement comes after neighboring Bulgaria decided last week to take control of Lukoil’s assets, currently in the process of appointing special administrators. However, the vice-president of the Association of Bulgarian fuel traders, producers and importers, Dimităr Hadjidimitrov, said that his country should receive a six-month postponement of the sanctions against Lukoil. In his opinion, it is unlikely that a solution will be found to sell the refinery in Burgas (on the Black Sea), because Lukoil must also agree to the transaction. “The largest company in the country, even if owned by Russians, cannot be left to run itself”, said Hadjidimitrov.
Earlier this month, the president of the Competition Council in Romania, Bogdan Chiriţoiu, said that his institution has received no notification from the Russians regarding the sale of assets here. He explained that notifications are submitted to the Commission for the Examination of Foreign Direct Investments (CEISD) if the transaction exceeds €2 million, while the Competition Council will get involved if the parties’ turnover is more than €4 million in the previous year.
In Romania, in addition to the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery, there is also a distribution network of about 320 gas stations. Lukoil has over 5,300 distribution stations in dozens of countries worldwide, as well as refineries in Europe. Their combined production reached 13.5 million tons last year, approximately 270,000 barrels per day. (VP)
