The Russian oil and gas company Lukoil has agreed to sell its 320,000 bbl/d ISAB refinery, located in Sicily (southern Italy), to GOI Energy, a Cypriot private equity firm. For the operation of the complex after its acquisition, GOI Energy formed a partnership with the commodity trading company Trafigura, which will provide financing and handle crude oil supplies and refined products output. The transaction is planned to be completed by the end of March 2023, pending the fulfilment of the necessary conditions. The agreement to sell the plant notably still requires approval from the Italian Government. The value of the deal was not communicated.
Lukoil had acquired 49% of the refinery from ERG in 2008 before raising its stakes to 100%. The refinery has relied solely on Russian oil since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as banks stopped financing it and providing the guarantees to buy oil from other sources. In September the Italian government had placed the ISAB refinery under temporary trusteeship to ensure the facility would continue operating despite the upcoming embargo on Russian seaborne oil, which started in December 2022.
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