Lukoil’s Burgas plant is Bulgaria’s only refinery; Slovakia running out of reasons to buy Russian gas as US import deal takes shape. What we know on day 1,352
Bulgaria is preparing to seize control of Lukoil’s Burgas oil refinery and sell it to a new owner after the Russian oil company came under US sanctions, according to Bulgarian media reports. Burgas is Bulgaria’s only oil refinery and as part of Lukoil is at risk of having to shut down because of the sanctions. The US joined Britain last month in imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Legislation was being drafted to allow the seizure, Bulgarian outlet Mediapool reported on Wednesday. Lukoil said last week that it was moving to sell foreign assets because of the sanctions.
With international action progressively choking off Russia’s petroleum exports, Poland said on Wednesday that it was working on a deal to import liquefied natural gas from the US to supply Ukraine and Slovakia. Officials expect to announce a joint declaration to boost imports after a meeting of the parties at a transatlantic energy conference in Athens later this week, Reuters cited a source as saying. The Polish energy ministry told Reuters late on Wednesday: “We are working with our partners – Americans, Slovaks, Ukrainians – on the possibilities of importing American gas to boost the energy security of our region.”
