Balgarianovinite.com Deputy Prime Minister and Economy, Investment and Industry Minister Alexander Poulev said that the Lukoil Neftochim Burgas refinery has not processed Russian oil in recent weeks.
Interviewed by Bulgarian National Television on Saturday, Poulev said the Bulgarian government is in constant contact with the US and UK embassies and has provided them with all relevant correspondence and information to ensure that none of the companies in the group transfers funds to sanctioned individuals or entities.
“Every new company registered in Switzerland is discussed with our British and American partners,” he said, adding that Bulgaria would comply with all requirements and that no funds had been transferred from the refinery to sanctioned companies.
According to Poulev, the Rumen Radev government has inherited several critical issues concerning Lukoil from the previous government, including a pending arbitration dispute and frozen Lukoil accounts.
On June 8, Pоulev warned of a serious threat to the state arising from a EUR 3 billion arbitration claim filed by Litasco against Bulgaria. On June 30, Bulgarian government officials held a meeting with representatives of Litasco and Lukoil. Poulev told a briefing after the meeting that it had resulted in an agreement for Litasco, a shareholder in Lukoil Neftochim Burgas and Lukoil Bulgaria, to immediately lift its restriction preventing Lukoil Neftochim Burgas from trading crude oil supplied by companies registered in Switzerland.
Asked about Bulgaria’s request to extend the sanctions exemption, Poulev said all the necessary documents had been submitted jointly with the Energy Ministry. He said the government had held numerous official and unofficial meetings on the matter and that, through the special commercial administrator mechanism, Bulgaria had complied with the requirements of the derogation at all times.
Regarding a July 21 Constitutional Court decision that the special commercial administrator can directly manage only one company, Poulev said this meant the Russian owners could regain management control over the other three Lukoil Group companies in Bulgaria: Lukoil Bulgaria, Lukoil Bulgaria Bunker and Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria. He warned that this could lead to direct sanctions being imposed on them by international partners, a shutdown of the refinery and a subsequent fuel shortage.
Poulev said the government had a two-step strategy and noted that the Progressive Bulgaria parliamentary group had submitted a bill amending the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Associated with Oil and Petroleum Products. The aim is to designate critical infrastructure facilities as being of national strategic importance, he said.
Asked whether the sanctions exemption had been used as a “bargaining chip” for the relocation of US tanker aircraft to Bezmer Air Base, Poulev said the aircraft had been moved from Sofia Airport, which is a civilian airport, to the air base where they belonged, while compliance with the derogation depended solely on strict adherence to laws and regulations.
On July 22, Parliament authorized the presence in Bulgaria of up to eight US Air Force KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft and up to 250 US military personnel at Bezmer Air Base from July 24 to October 1, 2026, in support of US operations in the Middle East. Deputy PM Poulev: Lukoil Neftochim Burgas Has Not Processed Russian Oil in Recent Weeks 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-25 19:32:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law