Lukoil

The owner of the Burgas-based oil refinery, Lukoil Neftohim, through its parent company Litasco, has dismissed recent claims by the Financial Times that the refinery is being sold to a Qatari-British consortium.

Russian energy giant Lukoil has announced plans to sell its largest asset in the Balkans, the refinery in Burgas, Bulgaria, to a Qatari-British consortium by the end of the year, marking a significant shift in Moscow's influence over energy supplies in Southeastern Europe, as reported by the Financial Times.

In the first half of 2024, Western allies, including Bulgaria, the European Union and the United States, purchased around 2 billion dollars worth of oil products from Turkey that were refined from Russian crude oil, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Center for Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Hungarian state oil company MOL is nearing the conclusion of negotiations to establish a new arrangement for securing Russian crude oil after Ukraine banned its main partner, Lukoil, from using Ukrainian pipelines.

Hungary has accused Ukraine of blackmailing both itself and Slovakia by halting oil supplies, according to a statement from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's advisor, Gergely Gulyas. The accusations come in the wake of Ukraine's decision to impose sanctions on Russia's Lukoil, which has disrupted the oil transit through the country.

The United States is planning to establish logistics centers in Black Sea countries to expedite the delivery of arms to Ukraine. This move comes as Hungary and Slovakia have struggled to initiate consultations with Ukraine, mediated by the European Commission, regarding the resumption of oil supplies from the Russian company Lukoil.

Bulgaria has extended an offer to supply Hungary with petroleum products following Ukraine's suspension of crude oil transit from Lukoil to Hungarian refineries. The Hungarian Foreign Ministry confirmed this development.

Hungary will block European Union refunds to member states that provided ammunition to Ukraine until Kyiv resumes the transit of oil from Russia's Lukoil through a pipeline across Ukrainian territory, Hungary's foreign minister announced on Tuesday.

Ukraine has halted a third of Russian oil imports to Hungary, leading Hungary and Slovakia to request immediate consultations with Ukraine, mediated by the European Commission. This action came after Ukraine stopped transferring Lukoil oil to the west last week.

In an interview with Spanish publication EL PERIÓDICO, former Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov sheds light on the precarious state of Bulgaria's political landscape, warning against external attempts to sway governmental decisions. Denkov's remarks underscore the nation's pivotal role in European energy transit and the challenges posed by Russia's expanding influence.