The measures are aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Moscow to de-escalate the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine, where Russian backed separatists in the east are battling against government troops.
The US Treasury Department added several energy-sector companies to its list of sanctioned entities, including Lukoil and Gazprom.
Lukoil is Russia’s second largest oil company and is considered among the world’s largest charterers by fixture volume.
Gazprom,
