The rumored deal of Lukoil taking over an $8.3 billion stake in the Spanish energy giant Repsol is causing quite a feverish political debate in the country, underscored by deep suspicion and paranoia that the private Russian company could be a Trojan horse for the pernicious influence of a foreign authoritarian power, seeking to seize control of the Spanish energy sector (or so goes the narrative).

But wait a minute – this isn’t Gazprom we are talking about – whose on-again–off-again interest in owning part of Repsol was what originally had raised all the furor.  If anything, it could have just been the sheer coincidental timing that has everyone on edge, as the Lukoil rumors came directly after Gazprom was thoroughly and aggressively rebuffed by negative statements across Spain’s political spectrum (Leader of the opposition centre-right party, Mariano Rajoy, declared that he was “radically against” any entrance of the Russians into Repsol).

My questions:  To what extent are the Spanish fears of Lukoil reasonable, and to what extent can we consider Lukoil a truly private company, independent of the Kremlin’s implicit or explicit interests in foreign policy?