Photo from sibur.ru
On November 12, the United Kingdom added Russia's SIBUR Holding to its sanctions list, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office stated in an official notice.
In total, the updated list includes nine Russian entities and 10 vessels. According to the British government, all designated targets carry on business in sectors of strategic significance to the Russian authorities, specifically the extractive sector, thereby obtaining a benefit from or providing support to the Russian government.
The measures entail an asset freeze and a prohibition on financial transactions within UK jurisdiction. Transport sanctions also apply to ships and aircraft owned, chartered, or operated by designated entities.
SIBUR is one of Russia’s largest petrochemical holdings and the country's leading producer of polymers and synthetic rubbers. Previously, the holding company itself had avoided Western sanctions, despite restrictions imposed on several of its key executives and shareholders, including board chairman Leonid Mikhelson and former CEO Dmitry Konov, who stepped down in 2022.
In Kazakhstan, SIBUR is a partner in two major polymer production ventures. The first is the Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries (KPI) plant in the Atyrau region, which is currently operating at a loss, reports Kursiv.kz. SIBUR holds a 40% stake in the enterprise, while KazMunayGas owns 49.5%, Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu holds 9.5%, and Almex Plus controls 1%.
The KPI plant came online in November 2022 with a nameplate capacity of 500,000 tonnes of polypropylene per year. In 2025, the facility turned out 377,000 tonnes of product, failing to reach full design capacity after three years of operations.
Additionally, SIBUR is a partner in the Silleno project to build a polyethylene complex, holding a 30% stake. China's Sinopec holds another 30%, KazMunayGas owns 29.9%, and KMG PetroChem holds the remaining 10.1%.
The complex is under construction in the Atyrau region and is designed to produce 1.25 million tonnes of polyethylene annually. According to data released by the regional administration on October 30, 2026, the project was 40.9% complete.
Oil and gas industry analyst Oleg Chervinsky notes that UK sanctions do not legally trigger an automatic freeze of the project by the European Union or the United States that would halt construction of the Silleno complex.
In practice, however, inclusion on London's sanctions list sends a serious warning signal to international banks, insurers, logistics providers, and equipment suppliers.
According to the analyst, for the joint ventures in Atyrau, this will at minimum complicate compliance procedures and financial settlements when dealing with foreign markets. Furthermore, the risk remains that Brussels and Washington could follow Britain's lead.
«At one time, sanctions imposed on LUKOIL derailed the shovel-ready Kalamkas-Sea/Khazar offshore development project in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea,» he recalled.
Late last year, LUKOIL announced plans to divest its foreign assets due to sanctions imposed by «certain states."
