US authorities have extended by another month the period during which certain transactions involving Lukoil's foreign assets are permitted, a decision announced on the same day that Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev held a telephone conversation with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright focused on bilateral energy cooperation. According to the Bulgarian government's press service, Radev and Wright discussed a range of strategic energy issues, including diversification of energy supplies in Southeast Europe, regional connectivity, construction of the Vertical Gas Corridor, new reactors at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant using US technology, and opportunities to develop large data centers and artificial intelligence facilities.