Moldovan energy minister, representative of Investment Fund that is to take over Lukoil’s assets discuss in Washington

Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu has held talks in Washington with a representative of the investment fund, Carlyle Group Inc., which is to take over Lukoil’s assets.

According to the Energy Ministry, the discussions focused on Carlyle Group’s transaction to acquire the assets of Lukoil International GmbH (LIG) and on further development plans for these assets.

The minister reiterated the position of Moldova’s government, which welcomes the company’s intention to take over the entire LIG business in the region through a specialized oil company. Junghietu noted that the cabinet was closely monitoring the progress of the approval process for this transaction by the OFAC Office of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Carlyle Group Inc. investment fund manages assets worth over 400 billion US dollars worldwide, including oil and gas assets in Europe.

During his visit to Washington, the energy minister also held meetings with representatives of the World Bank Group, during which the sides discussed the progress and challenges related to projects financed in Moldova, the Vulcanesti–Chisinau Energy Independence Line, the project to build high-efficiency cogeneration capacity based on gas-fired internal combustion engines (55 MW), as well as options of financing and implementation of a new gas-fired cogeneration plant of 250 MW (electric) and 180 MW (thermal).

The minister reiterated the strategic importance of these projects and the World Bank representatives reconfirmed their support and commitment to identifying the most optimal and affordable solutions for continuing the projects.

Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu is paying a working visit to the United States of America on February 23-25, to participate in the Transatlantic Gas Security Summit. The visit is taking place at an invitation by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.