Bulgarian deputies want faster restrictions for Lukoil refinery

MOSCOW, Dec 6 (PRIME) -- The Bulgarian deputies have put forward a new initiative to restrict operations with Russian oil for oil major Lukoil’s refinery in the country, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported late on Tuesday.

In November, the Bulgarian parliament rejected a bill that would prohibit Lukoil’s refinery Lukoil Neftohim Burgas from refining Russian oil starting from January 1, 2024. Instead, parliament banned the refinery from exporting oil products after the date, and banned it from refining Russian oil starting from March 1, 2024.

But the BNT said that Delyan Dobrev, chairman of the parliament’s energy committee, had said that the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party suggested abolishing all exemptions for the Burgas refinery starting from January 1.

“Several events have happened over the past two days. Bulgaria has become the fourth largest consumer of Russian oil in the world. What happens to such great amounts of oil? It is being transshipped to other ships in the open sea. E.U. Financial Stability Commissioner (Mairead McGuinness) called on us to abolish the exemptions,” Doberv said as quoted by the BNT.

The E.U. imposed a partial embargo on Russian oil in 2022 with the exemption for sea shipments to Bulgaria until the end of 2024. Lukoil’s Bulgarian oil refinery Lukoil Neftohim Burgas depends on supplies of Russian oil.

End