U.S. And Russia Raise Prospect Of Multi-Billion Oil Deal During Talks On Ukraine War: Report

Long-running talks between the U.S. and Russian governments could result in an agreement regarding the acquisition of the international oil assets of Russian energy company Lukoil, the country's largest non-state-owned oil company. However, the multinational has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

An investor group led by U.S. billionaire investor Todd Boehly which includes Middle Eastern investors who have business ties to Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are pursuing a deal to secure Lukoil's assets, the New York Times reported.

The transaction would cover Lukoil's extensive international portfolio of refineries, oil fields and gas stations; the Russian company owns refineries in six countries and operates oil and gas exploration projects in twelve.

Putin initially raised the prospect of such an agreement on September 5th, when Kushner and Witkoff travelled to Moscow to hold talks with Putin on ending the Russo-Ukraine war, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

The Al-Khayyat brothers, two Syrian-Qatari billionaire entrepreneurs who have worked with President Trump's son-in-law Kushner on the development of a controversial luxury resort in Albania, and an investment fund controlled by national security advisor to the UAE Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan are also part of the prospective investor group.

Business interests affiliated with the Emirati politician have a minority (49%) stake in cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial, which was founded by members of the Trump and Witkoff families.

However, the Lukoil deal is not finalized and would need approval from the Kremlin and the U.S. treasury department, which maintains an extensive sanctions regime against Moscow's financial, military and political infrastructure.

These sanctions notwithstanding, the U.S. side reportedly sees the deal as a means to lower global oil prices, which have surged recently due to both the ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran as well as hostilities in eastern Europe.

However, the conflict in Ukraine, which was caused by the Russian invasion in 2022, shows no sign of abating, as the Kremlin carried out a drone strike on a key strategic bridge over the Dnipro River in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Sunday morning.

The Russian strike follows weeks of intensifying Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, one of which occurred against a Lukoil-operated refinery in the southern Russian city of Volgograd on Thursday. Trump has previously criticized the Ukrainian strikes, claiming that they were "hurting the world".

The severity of the ongoing global energy crisis prompted the G7 countries to agree to release tens of millions of barrels worth of diesel and crude oil to help cap soaring prices on Friday.