U.S. Treasury Blocks Bid for Lukoil’s Foreign Assets

The U.S. Treasury Department has rejected a bid by a group of companies led by investment bank Xtellus Partners to buy the foreign assets of Russia’s Lukoil, Reuters has reported, citing several unnamed sources. The assets, valued at some $22 billion, were put on the market after the United States imposed sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft. The first bidder was Swiss commodity major Gunvor, which President Trump called a Russian “puppet”. Since then, Chevron, Exxon, Hungarian MOL, Emirati International Holding Company, and private…