The suspension of Russian oil supplies to the Lukoil refinery in the Bulgarian seaside city of Burgas from March 2024 does not mean that the company loses the opportunity to supply this refinery with raw materials. A source familiar with the situation told the Azerbaijani Trend agency.
"The refinery still belongs to Lukoil, and its trading arm Litasco has simply stopped supplying oil of Russian origin to this plant since March but supplies oil from other countries, notably Iraq, Tunisia, and Kazakhstan." None other than Litasco "has the right to supply oil to this refinery," the source stressed.
Back in December 2023, the Bulgarian parliament unanimously approved laws restricting the export of gasoline derived from Russian oil from January 1, 2024. In addition, the law provided for the processing of oil of Russian origin at the Lukoil refinery (the only major refinery in Bulgaria) in Burgas to end on March 1, 2024.
In addition, in December last year, Lukoil announced that it planned to review its business in Bulgaria "due to political decisions of the Bulgarian leadership".
The oil processing capacity of the Burgas refinery exceeds eight to nine million tons per year, producing a full range of petroleum products and serving as the main fuel supplier for the Bulgarian market.
"Bulgaria is looking for buyers for the Burgas refinery on the Black Sea, but there are no clear terms. At the moment, no company can guarantee uninterrupted oil supplies for this plant and is not ready to buy it," the source stressed.
Regarding the prospects of supplying oil to the Burgas refinery from SOCAR Trading, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), the source mentioned that although SOCAR has been operating in Bulgaria for almost a year, it holds a 10-year trade-only license with gas, not oil.
"Litasco has a monopoly right for the refinery in Burgas. As for SOCAR Trading, it can sell gas to consumers in Bulgaria from various sources, including Azerbaijan," the source explained.
Bulgaria is considering SOCAR as one of the potential buyers for the Burgas refinery, but the Azerbaijani side is concerned about the complex logistics involved. /BGNES
