Italian officials are reviewing a deal to sell Lukoil's ISAB refinery in Sicily, after the US government privately expressed concerns about the sale of the Russian facility to a little-known Cypriot fund.
The Financial Times writes about it.
In January, Russia's Lukoil agreed to sell its Sicilian ISAB refinery to GOI Energy, which is owned by the Cypriot investment fund Argus, in partnership with oil trader Trafigura. The deal beat out an offer from American Crossbridge Energy Partners.
The €1.5 billion transaction was expected to be completed by March 31. However, Italian officials have asked for more time to consider important details, the sources said.
According to the interlocutors, the additional time was needed after an unofficial US request to Italy to confirm the absence of Russian involvement in GOI Energy.
The ISAB refinery is one of the largest industrial facilities in Western Europe. It can process 320,000 barrels of oil per day, which is about a fifth of Italy's oil refining capacity. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Italy did not nationalize the plant, but placed it under interim management, giving it veto power over any deal to sell it that could jeopardize its operations or jobs.
Trafigura confirmed that company executives met with Italian officials to "answer their questions" but said the meeting was "positive" and the process was moving forward.
The US State Department declined to comment on any contacts between US and Italian officials regarding the deal. The agency added that Lukoil and its Italian operations are not subject to US sanctions, but stressed the need for thorough scrutiny of any transactions involving Russian energy assets.
GOI Energy categorically denies any Russian involvement in the company's financing or operations, saying its investors are "exclusively Greek, Israeli and Cypriot companies". They added that the head of GOI Energy Christodoulos Damianou is the consul of Ukraine in Cyprus.
At the same time, according to interlocutors of the publication, informed about the negotiations, Italian officials are still concerned about some aspects of the agreement.
One Italian high-ranking energy official said he was concerned that "a group of unknown investors running a newly created company from Cyprus could acquire an asset that Rome considers strategic."