BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The fate of the Burgas oil refinery on the Black Sea may be decided in spring 2024, as Bulgaria has already started replacing Russian oil from Lukoil with other oil, a source in the government told Trend.
Russian company Lukoil has owned the refinery for 20 years with a capacity of up to 8 million tons of oil a year, but international sanctions could deprive it of the asset.
"Until March 1, the refinery can still take Russian-sourced oil. The price ceiling on Russian oil for Bulgaria is in effect until the fall of 2024. However, the Bulgarian side has already begun substituting Russian oil since January and conducted a large-scale check at the refinery," the source noted.
The refinery is to receive tankers with Tunisian oil, Iraqi oil, and oil from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in January 2024.
In addition, the country has introduced a 60% profit tax for this refinery, which is so far owned by Lukoil.
"There is an active search for buyers of the refinery or a management company. In the fall of 2023, preliminary talks were held with SOCAR, KazMunaiGas, and American investors. The issue may be resolved in the second and third quarters of 2024," the source emphasized.
According to him, the refinery requires stable supplies of about 7 million tons of oil per year, and so far no company can guarantee such continuity.
"The situation in the Black Sea and in the Bosphorus and Dardanella Straits, which connect this sea with the world ocean, is not stable. It is extremely difficult to ensure not one-off but stable tanker deliveries to Burgas. Knowing this, the Bulgarian side and prospective buyers of the refinery cannot decide on clear proposals for this asset," the source explained.
He mentioned that this is the reason why SOCAR has no clarity on the Burgas refinery yet; all commercial aspects are being calculated.
LUKOIL announced in December 2023 its intention to revise its strategy in Bulgaria because of the pressure on it.
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