French oil major TotalEnergies has taken full ownership of the Zeeland refinery in the Netherlands, re-acquiring the remaining 45% stake owned by Russia’s Lukoil, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The sources did not know whether Total paid for the shares and if so how much, or if it engaged in another deal, such as an asset swap with Total’s projects in Russia, to take full control.
TotalEnergies declined comment. Lukoil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Treasury issued sanctions on Lukoil in October in an attempt to pressure Russia to end its war with Ukraine, prompting the company to launch a sale of its international assets, initially valued at around $22 billion.
Lukoil acquired its 45% stake in Zeeland from Total for about $725 million in 2009, during a state visit to the Netherlands by Russia’s then-president Dmitry Medvedev, in a deal widely seen as expanding Moscow’s influence in northwest Europe.
Zeeland was not formally subject to U.S. sanctions given Lukoil was a minority shareholder, one of the sources said. But concerns that oil suppliers would be unwilling to do business with Zeeland, coupled with news of a possible global sale of Lukoil’s assets, pushed Total to re-acquire the remaining shares of the 180,000 barrels-per-day refinery.
The U.S. Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This is an internal affair for Total, just like any other corporate decision, which did not require any approval or action from the government of the Netherlands because the refinery was never formally subject to sanctions,” a spokesperson for the Dutch ministry for climate and green growth said on Tuesday.
Total reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Wednesday, and expects a 230% jump in profit margins for refining in Europe in the fourth quarter, according to a trading statement published last month.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne in September attributed the rise in profitable refining to sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft.
Source: Reuters.com