Bulgaria’s Energy Minister: Fuel supplies are guaranteed in spite of sanctions on Lukoil
Bulgaria has enough quantities of fuel to cover consumption for many months to come, Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov said on October 28, speaking to reporters about the implications of US sanctions on Lukoil.
In a statement on October 22, the US Treasury Department said that the action by Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targets Russia’s two largest oil companies, Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil), which are now designated.
Bulgaria’s sole refinery is the Lukoil one in the Black Sea city of Bourgas.
“It is important that by decree of the Cabinet, the refinery’s assets have been designated as infrastructure related to the country’s energy and national security,” Stankov said.
He said that a three-phase action plan related to the security of energy supplies has already been activated.
The first and second phases include constant monitoring, consultations and preventive measures, and the third phase provides for specific actions in the event of a possible interruption of supplies, he said.
Stankov said that the sanctions, which come into effect after November 21, mainly affect the method of payment of the sanctioned individuals and their subsidiaries.
“On the first day after their announcement, we contacted our colleagues from OFAC with the Minister of Justice to clarify all the details. It is important for us that the goals of the sanctions are met without affecting the interests of Bulgarian citizens,” he said.
Stankov said that the effect on the fuel market is minimal: “There is a slight change in oil prices – about two to four stotinki, which is not significant.”
He said that Bulgaria is in constant coordination with partners from the European Commission, the US and the UK to ensure the necessary conditions for the normal operation of the refinery.
“Following the Russian side’s stated intention to sell its assets through a buyer, our goal is clear – to protect jobs,” Stankov said.
As The Sofia Globe reported earlier, Lukoil said on October 27 that owing to introduction of restrictive measures against the company and its subsidiaries by some states the company announces its intention to sell its international assets.
In Bulgaria, the ruling majority, citing the sanctions, pushed through Parliament legislation that will require any sale of the Lukoil refinery in the coastal city of Bourgas and other assets to first be cleared by the State Agency for National Security and the Cabinet.
(Photo: Kiril Havezov/ sxc.hu)
