One of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest families wants to acquire foreign assets of "Lukoil"
As reported by Reuters, citing three sources, the main contender is the Saudi company Midad Energy, which is part of one of Saudi Arabia's largest holdings operating across the Middle East. The company's head has ties to intelligence services.
Photo: AP Photo/ Valentina Petrova
Midad Energy plans to pay for Lukoil's assets via an escrow account, where funds will be blocked until sanctions are lifted from the Russian company. American companies may be involved in the deal.
Midad Energy is part of the oil and gas holding Midad Holding, which in turn is a component of Al Fozan Holding — one of Saudi Arabia's leading family corporations (11th place according to Forbes ranking). Al Fozan operates through more than 20 subsidiaries in retail, real estate, industry, energy, and healthcare. Midad Energy is actively expanding internationally: in October, the company signed a $5.4 billion contract to develop an oil and gas field in Algeria and already operates in Azerbaijan and Egypt, just like Lukoil.
Midad Energy CEO Abdulelah Al-Aiban is the brother of influential Saudi national security advisor Musaed Al-Aiban, who participated in peace talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia. Their father, Mohammed Al-Aiban, was the kingdom's first intelligence chief.
Experts note that the Saudi contender could become a convenient partner for both Russia and the US, as Riyadh seeks to maintain good relations with Moscow while simultaneously developing cooperation with Washington. During Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia in 2025, the parties signed a series of agreements in defense, energy, and technology, and Riyadh promised to invest up to $1 trillion in the US.
In addition to Midad Energy, interest in Lukoil's assets was shown by Exxon Mobil and Chevron (USA), International Holding Company (UAE), Hungarian Mol, and the Carlyle investment fund. However, the US Treasury recently denied a group of investors led by Xtellus Partners, who wanted to exchange Lukoil's assets for its shares frozen in American funds after the war in Ukraine began.
Lukoil's foreign assets include refineries in Bulgaria, Romania, and the Netherlands, about 2,000 gas stations in Europe, Central Asia, the USA, and the Middle East, an aviation fuel terminal in Moldova, as well as oil and gas production facilities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Egypt, UAE, Latin America, and Africa.
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