MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Carlyle plans to enter into a deal with Lukoil to buy its international assets after conducting a comprehensive independent review and receiving regulatory approval, the press service of the US investment company told TASS.

"Carlyle notes PJSC Lukoil’s announcement today in relation to Carlyle’s agreement to acquire Lukoil International GmbH, PJSC Lukoil’s international business. The agreement is conditional upon Carlyle’s due diligence and regulatory approvals," the company said.

The proposed transaction, which excludes Lukoil International’s assets located in Kazakhstan, has been structured to be fully compliant with the policies of the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Carlyle noted.

"Carlyle’s approach to Lukoil International would be on ensuring operational continuity, preserving jobs, stabilizing the asset base and supporting safe, reliable performance across the portfolio by bringing to bear dedicated oversight and international operating capabilities. <…> Carlyle would also reinvest free cash flow into the asset base to support long-term performance," the company stressed.

Carlyle is a global investment firm with decades of experience investing in and operating energy assets across international markets. Through its large and diversified global energy platform, the company invests in oil and gas assets across the entire energy value chain. Carlyle manages $474 bln worth of assets and employs more than 2,400 people in 27 offices on four continents.

Russia’s oil major Lukoil reported earlier that it had reached an agreement with Carlyle to sell Lukoil International GmbH, which owns its foreign assets. The deal does not include projects in Kazakhstan and is conditional upon a number of approvals, including from US authorities. The agreement is not exclusive as Lukoil continues negotiations with other potential buyers, the company noted. It also recalled that the sale of Lukoil International is related to the introduction of restrictive measures by certain states against Lukoil and its subsidiaries.

In October, the US and UK put Lukoil on sanctions lists, after which the company announced its intention to sell its international assets and cited Gunvor's offer to purchase Lukoil International GmbH. Gunvor later withdrew the offer after the US Treasury Department announced that a license for such a deal would not be issued until the conflict in Ukraine ended. The media reported on a wide range of companies interested in Lukoil's assets.