Explainer: What do Russia’s oil giants own overseas?

Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December

The US sanctions announced in late October placed Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, triggering an immediate halt to most financial and commercial dealings with the firms once short grace periods expire. In coordination, the UK and the EU also imposed sanctions on the two firms, though Washington’s measures are by far the hardest-hitting, cutting the pair from the global dollar system and virtually prohibiting any counterparty worldwide from dealing with them. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control set 13 December as the deadline for winding down all transactions with Lukoil and most of its subsidiaries, and 29 April 202