Washington (Platts)--28Apr2014/923 am EDT/1323 GMT

The US on Monday said it has imposed sanctions on seven Russian government officials, including Igor Sechin, president and chairman of state-owned oil company Rosneft, in response to the escalation of tensions in Ukraine.

Rosneft board member Sergei Chemezov is also among those sanctioned.

Rosneft itself was not sanctioned, though 17 other companies, including some that provide oil and gas services, were added to the US' list of sanctioned entities Monday.

US officials said the European Union would announce its own set of sanctions later Monday.

Sechin, a former deputy prime minster of Russia from 2008 to 2012, "has shown utter loyalty to [Russian president] Vladimir Putin -- a key component to his current standing," the US Department of Treasury said in announcing the sanctions.

Rosneft declined to comment on the announcement.

The sanctions freeze the US assets of the targeted individuals and companies and also prohibit any transactions between them and any US persons.

The sanctioned companies include several owned or linked to Gennady Timchenko, co-founder of commodity trading firm Gunvor, and Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, brothers whose companies provide construction services to Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom.

The US had previously imposed sanctions on Timchencko and the Rotenberg brothers.

The new sanctions target Volga Group, a holding company solely owned by Timchenko, as well as oil and oil products rail freight operator Transoil and oil, gas and petrochemical construction firm Stroytransgaz, both of which are owned or controlled by the Volga Group.

Rotenberg-linked companies sanctioned include gas pipeline construction company Stroygazmontazh and two banks.

"The United States made clear it would impose additional costs on Russia if it failed live up to its Geneva commitments and take concrete steps to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

"Consequently, today the United States is imposing targeted sanctions on a number of Russian individuals and entities and restricting licenses for certain US exports to Russia."

--Herman Wang, herman.wang@platts.com
--Stuart Elliott, stuart.elliott@platts.com
--Edited by Alisdair Bowles, alisdair.bowles@platts.com

http://www.platts.com/latest-news/oil/washington/us-extends-russia-sanctions-to-7-officials-17-26778373