Bulgaria running low on fuel as US sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil loom

ISTANBUL

Bulgaria faces mounting concerns about its fuel security as US sanctions against Russian energy company Lukoil threaten to disrupt operations at the country’s largest refinery, Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov warned Tuesday.

Stankov said that “the security of supply at affordable prices is guaranteed,” but acknowledged that Bulgaria’s reserves may not last long if the Burgas refinery halts production.

“The quantities of fuel available on the territory of Bulgaria are sufficient to supply Bulgarian citizens and businesses for a long period,” Stankov said at the Fortifying Freedom: Defence and Democracy Dialogue in Sofia, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.

He emphasized that the ministry is in constant contact with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control to secure a solution before Nov. 21, when the refinery’s operations could be affected.

But opposition figures challenged that optimism. Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) lawmaker Ivaylo Mirchev said fuel reserves stored abroad “are not real 90-day reserves,” urging the government to immediately bring them home.

“The head of the State Reserve has just confirmed what I have been saying since the beginning of the crisis with the sanctions against Lukoil: our 90-day fuel reserves are not actually 90-day reserves,” Mirchev warned.

Earlier, Asen Asenov, chair of the State Reserve and Wartime Stocks Agency, told bTV that Bulgaria holds petrol reserves for about 35 days and diesel for more than 50 days.

Parliament has, meanwhile, rushed through emergency measures in response to US sanctions. Within a week, lawmakers banned exports and intra-EU deliveries of petroleum products, mostly diesel and created a special commercial administrator to oversee Lukoil’s assets in Bulgaria.

Despite the steps, the energy minister downplayed the need for alternative plans. Asked whether the government had a “Plan B,” Stankov replied that he was confident “Plan A” would work well.

ISTANBUL

Stankov said that “the security of supply at affordable prices is guaranteed,” but acknowledged that Bulgaria’s reserves may not last long if the Burgas refinery halts production.

He emphasized that the ministry is in constant contact with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control to secure a solution before Nov. 21, when the refinery’s operations could be affected.

Earlier, Asen Asenov, chair of the State Reserve and Wartime Stocks Agency, told bTV that Bulgaria holds petrol reserves for about 35 days and diesel for more than 50 days.

Despite the steps, the energy minister downplayed the need for alternative plans. Asked whether the government had a “Plan B,” Stankov replied that he was confident “Plan A” would work well.