TotalEnergies acquires full ownership of the Zeeland refinery from co-owner Lukoil.

TotalEnergies has gained complete ownership of the Zeeland refinery in the Netherlands by buying back the remaining 45% stake previously held by Russia's Lukoil, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

The sources were unaware if Total paid for the shares or if other arrangements, such as an asset exchange involving Total's Russian projects, were made to assume full control.

TotalEnergies did not provide any comments, and Lukoil did not respond to a request for comment.

In October, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Lukoil to pressure Russia to cease its actions in Ukraine, leading the firm to initiate the sale of its global assets, initially estimated at around $22 billion.

Lukoil purchased its 45% share in Zeeland from Total for approximately $725 million in 2009, during a state visit to the Netherlands by then-President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, which was viewed as a move to enhance Moscow's influence in northwest Europe.

Although Zeeland was not officially under U.S. sanctions because Lukoil was only a minority stakeholder, concerns about oil suppliers' willingness to engage with Zeeland, along with the potential global sale of Lukoil's assets, influenced Total to reacquire the remaining shares of the 180,000 barrels-per-day refinery.

The U.S. Treasury has yet to respond to a request for comment.

According to a spokesperson for the Dutch ministry of climate and green growth, this transaction is an internal matter for Total and did not necessitate approval or action from the Dutch government, as the refinery was never officially sanctioned.

Total is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Wednesday and anticipates a 230% increase in profit margins for refining in Europe during the fourth quarter, as stated in a trading announcement last month.

In September, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne attributed the increase in lucrative refining to the sanctions imposed on Lukoil and Rosneft.