Maxim Shevyrenkov, Head of the Center for Commodity Market Analysis at the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Forbes on the prospects for the LUKOIL's foreign assets sale.
On December 1, Gunvor's main shareholder Thorbjorn Tornqvist announced that he was leaving the company and selling 86% of the company to management.
Maxim Shevyrenkov believes that even now the US Treasury is unlikely to give Gunvor the go-ahead for the purchase. "The company has yet to prove that Tornquist has ceased to be its beneficiary, that there will be no share buyback, and that Gunvor does not trade oil of Russian origin," the expert says.
According to Shevyrenkov, ExxonMobil, Chevron, MOL and ADNOC are the most serious buyers. ExxonMobil is interested in Iraq, Chevron is interested in Kazakhstan, where it, together with Lukoil, is a shareholder of the Tengizchevroil consortium, which is developing the Tengizskoye field, MOL is interested in a refinery in Bulgaria, and ADNOC is involved in primary gas production and processing projects in Uzbekistan.