Media: SOCAR interested in buying Lukoil's business in Bulgaria

Several structures are interested in purchasing the Bulgarian business of the Russian company Lukoil, including the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Report informs referring to Euractiv citing sources.

According to unofficial information obtained by Euractiv, several entities are interested in buying up Lukoil’s Bulgarian business. While interest comes from two US-based investment funds and two smaller oil companies, the most interested is the controversial state-owned Azerbaijani oil company, SOCAR.

Russian oil company Lukoil is considering all possible options for the future of its Bulgarian business, including the sale of the Balkans’ largest refinery, Neftochim Burgas, and its vast network of petrol stations and oil depots in the country.

With 220 gas stations and nine oil bases in Bulgaria, Lukoil currently holds a dominant position in producing and storing petroleum fuels as the region’s key jet fuel supplier.

In the Bulgarian parliament, lawmakers have already begun discussing a ban on Russian oil imports, with one proposal suggesting that a ban should be imposed no earlier than March 1, 2024, and no later than March 15, 2024.

According to Finance Minister Asen Vassilev, removing the exemption in favor of a total ban should not affect the Bulgarian market, as there is no reason to raise fuel prices in the country at this stage.

About two weeks ago, Lukoil Neftochim Burgas warned that the cancellation of the new quotas for the export of petroleum products that cannot be placed on the Bulgarian market from 1 January 2024 is effectively tantamount to the cancellation of the exemption from December 2023.