Lukoil to explore sale of Bulgarian ops

Lukoil will work with international consultants in light of the "significant changes" in the operating conditions of the group's Bulgarian enterprises, the Russian company said in a press release.

In Bulgaria, Lukoil owns the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas oil refinery located near the coastal city of Burgas. It also has 220 fuel stations and nine oil depots, as well as ship and aviation bunkering businesses, according to the statement.

"The revision of the strategy is a consequence of the adoption by the government authorities of Bulgaria of discriminatory laws and other unfair, biased political decisions regarding the plant, which have nothing to do with the civilised regulation of large business or with increasing the revenue side of the country’s budget," the company said.

Lukoil will inform the government and trade unions of its further actions in relation to assets in Bulgaria, it added.

Last month, the governing coalitions of GERB-UDF and WCC-DB, with support from the Movement of Rights and Freedoms (MRF), agreed on a phased removal starting from January 1, 2024, of the derogation granted by the European Commission in June 2022 that enabled the refinery to import and process Russian crude oil, and export oil products. At the time, Lukoil Neftohim Burgas cautioned that elimination of export quotas as early as January is tantamount to a repeal of the derogation and may force a halt in production.

In October, Litasco, the trading arm of Lukoil and the main shareholder of Lukoil Neftohim Burgas, denied claims it was in any negotiations to sell the refinery and had received offers. The comment came after Bulgarian finance minister Assen Vassilev told the Financial Times that Bulgaria was aware of expressions of interest in the purchase of Lukoil Neftohim Burgas, but was not involved in the process.