The US Gas Station Chain You Might Not Know Is Owned By A Russian Company

Filling your car with gas is one of those daily routine things that most people almost never think about. While a small portion of drivers make the effort to research the various tiers of gasoline and which brands offer themmany stop at the gas station that has the lowest price or is the most convenient to visit.

Unless they’re deep into the science of gasoline or have long-standing brand loyalty, the name on the pumps has little meaning, let alone the country the brand comes from. So many Americans may be unaware that one of Russia’s largest oil companies has a sizable retail presence in certain parts of the country.

Lukoil is Russia’s second largest oil company and was founded in the last days of the Soviet Union. Its large, global footprint currently includes approximately 200 gas stations operating in the Northeastern United States. But the days of American Lukoil stations being Russian-owned are likely coming to an end, as the company announced plans to sell its international operations to a US investment group.

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Although Russia’s global status as a major oil exporter is well known, actual Russian-owned gasoline retailers are less common outside Russia and especially in America. And even in the United States, you’ve probably never encountered a Lukoil station unless you live in New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania, where the vast majority of these stations are located.

Lukoil was founded as a Russian state-owned oil company in 1991, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the company came under private ownership in 1993. Lukoil established its retail presence in the United States in 2000 by acquiring Getty Oil and its franchised gas stations in the Northeast. Beyond these retail stations in the Americas, Lukoil’s international operations also include subsidiaries in approximately 30 countries around the world, including the Middle East, Europe and South America.

Interestingly, Lukoil is not the only gas station chain in the US owned by a country with rocky relations with America in early 2026. Citgo, which has an even larger presence in the US, has actually indirectly owned Venezuela for decades. Both gasoline brands have been subject to legal and diplomatic pressure from the US government.

In normal times, the country of origin of a gasoline brand may not be very important. However, the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 triggered far-reaching global sanctions against Russia and Russian companies with strategic and economic implications around the world. Affects Russia’s joint space operations.

Lukoil has done its best to distance itself from the Russian government and circumvent sanctions, which intensify in 2025 as the United States begins to press for an end to the Ukraine war. However, the US government, knowing that Lukoil had nearly 200 franchised gas stations in America, granted Lukoil an exemption that allowed the stations to remain open despite the sanctions.

As of January 2026, a solution to this difficult situation appears to have been found. American investment group Carlyle has reached an agreement to acquire all of Lukoil’s international operations. While the deal has not yet been finalized or approved by the U.S. Treasury, Carlyle said it aims to keep the portfolio operating as is, albeit under new ownership completely separated from Russia. It’s unclear at this time exactly what this means for Lukoil stations in America. New ownership could mean selling the American Lukoil network to a different brand, but Carlyle could also keep the stations operating as they are now, under a new brand name.

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Read Original article on SlashGear.