US may hit Rosneft, Lukoil with sanctions over Ukraine war – media
The US administration is considering imposing sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC to force Russian President Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported.
According to the publication, the sanctions could include restrictions on the Kremlin's energy revenues and additional tariffs for buyers of Russian oil, in particular China, as well as restrictions on the "shadow" fleet of oil tankers. Their introduction is seen as a temporary step to put pressure before the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Putin in Anchorage (Alaska).
State-controlled Rosneft, headed by Putin’s close ally Igor Sechin, and privately held Lukoil are the two largest Russian oil producers, jointly accounting for nearly a half of the nation’s total crude-oil exports, or around 2.2 million barrels a day in the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg estimates.
“The threat of further sanctions is part of US negotiating tactics coming into the summit to show the administration is willing to ramp up pressure on Russia. It’s in Trump’s style to dangle economic tools as carrots and sticks,” Bloomberg said.
