EnerMin Ivan:There are 3 companies that have expressed their intention to acquire Lukoil's assets in Romania

Three companies have expressed their intention to acquire Lukoil's assets in Romania, both the refinery and the gas station networks, Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan declared on Tuesday. "Currently, there are three companies that have expressed their intention to acquire Lukoil's assets in Romania, both the refinery and the gas station networks, which have been negotiating directly with the concern for several weeks now. We have been notified, we are in contact with them and this transaction between two private companies is about to be initialed, in which it is obvious that our interest is for this transaction to be made as quickly as possible. In the meantime, based on current legislation, it is obvious that Romania has not requested an extension of these deadlines, because it is a very clear and political decision whether we apply the US sanctions, whether we agree with them or not. Romania, unlike other neighboring states, is not dependent on the production of hydrocarbons and their imports from the Russian Federation and Lukoil. Therefore, it did not request this extension and our position is very clear and very firm. At the moment, we are waiting for the sanctions to be applied, and immediately after that, this company will find a buyer and conclude the transaction so as not to disrupt economic activity," said Bogdan Ivan, at the 7th Edition of the Romanian International Energy Conference (RIEC) 2025, organized by the Energy Employers' Federation (FPE).According to him, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the other relevant ministries, is drafting a normative act "to ensure the creation of a legal framework through which there would be a form of supervision for the respective assets and economic activities"."Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for implementing these types of sanctions, together with the other relevant ministries, because it is a governmental action, not just of a ministry, is drafting a regulatory act, to which we have also contributed since last week with technical expertise from the Ministry of Energy, precisely to ensure the creation of a legal framework through which there would be a form of supervision for the respective assets and economic activities," the minister added.Regarding the buyer, the minister emphasized that "there are negotiations currently underway internationally.""There are companies that have bid globally, those from the United States have received several offers. At the national level, there are companies that are interested in acquiring assets in Romania, including Romanian companies, including from states, including from other member states of the European Union. It is obvious that it is a transaction between two private companies, in which the state has limited powers to intervene at the moment, what we are doing is respecting the US sanctions and implementing them on time. (...) I cannot give the names (of the companies, ed.) because at the moment I would be violating the confidentiality of a commercial document from those companies that have officially informed the Ministry of Energy.Asked if a supervisor would be established in the draft ordinance, the minister emphasized that it is a standard procedure."Currently, it is a standard procedure, the legislation provides for this, approximately the same as the supervision process that has taken place since 2022 on other companies that had the Russian Federation as their source of capital. It is that model that is only being updated with the 2025 legislation," the minister added.Representatives of the central public administration and energy specialists discuss on Tuesday the European perspectives on the field, regional collaboration and integration, the policies that redraw the national trajectory and the country projects that consolidate Romania's energy security and development.