Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Burgas refinery switches to oil from Kazakhstan, Iraq and Tunisia

Photo: Ani Petrova

According to the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in January Bulgaria replaced imports of Russian oil with imports from Kazakhstan, Iraq and Tunisia, reports BTA, citing Reuters. 

Bulgaria has a derogation from the EU embargo against Russia, allowing it to import Russian oil by sea through 2024. But the country has restricted exports of all refined products produced from Russian crude from this month, making it almost impossible for its sole refinery Lukoil Neftochim Burgas to run on Russian oil, and has decided to stop all Russian crude imports from March.

Bulgaria was the fourth largest buyer of Russian oil by sea in 2023, with more than 100,000 barrels per day. The profitability of the plant is also affected by a 60% tax imposed by the Bulgarian government on the refinery's profits. The Russian company has already said that it is considering selling its assets in Bulgaria. Reuters notes that Lukoil and the Bulgarian Economy Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the information.


Bulgaria can take over operation of Russian company Lukoil's Neftochim Burgas refinery for up to a year, lawmakers decided on Friday in a vote aimed at protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring fuel supplies for the Balkan country. In doing so, Sofia is paving the way to take control of Lukoil's oil refinery if necessary, comments Reuters.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The five largest Indian IT companies already have offices in Bulgaria

Bulgaria and India will intensify their cooperation in various sectors of mutual interest. This was discussed at a meeting of the Bulgarian Minister of Economy Petko Nikolov with Ambassador of India to Bulgaria H.E. Sanjay Rana. The two focused..

published on 10/31/24 5:48 PM

A Bulgarian-Czech Chamber of Commerce established in Sofia

On October 31, 2024, 10 business leaders in Bulgaria founded the first Bulgarian-Czech Chamber of Commerce in the country. At the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Sofia, in the presence of Martin Dvořák, Minister of European Affairs of the Czech..

published on 10/31/24 1:54 PM

The model of EU subsidies distorts agricultural production in Bulgaria, the director of the Institute of Agrarian Economics says

In the space of 15 years, from 2005 until 2020, 75% of the farms in the country have disappeared – from 500,000 in 2005 down to 132,000 in 2020, said Prof. Dr. Bozhidar Ivanov, Director of the Institute of Agrarian Economics at an international..

published on 10/31/24 9:39 AM