Azerbaijan considers acquisition of Lukoil's Bulgarian Refinery
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Azerbaijan is open to considering the acquisition of the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas oil refinery in Bulgaria if a concrete offer is presented, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Bulgaria, Huseyn Huseynov, said, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Dec. 25.
However, that concrete proposal is still missing, the ambassador noted.
Lukoil, a Russian company, commenced operations in Bulgaria in October 1999, acquiring a controlling stake in the Burgas refinery with a capacity of 8.8 million tons. The company also oversees a network of over 500 gas stations in the country.
In Sep. 2023, the Bulgarian Parliament approved a gradual phasing out of Russian oil imports. Although Bulgaria and several other EU countries were granted an exemption from the ban on Russian oil imports until the end of 2024, MPs voted to limit the use of raw materials from Russia at the Lukoil refinery to 80% by the end of 2023 and to completely abandon it by Oct. 2024.
Subsequently, Bulgaria implemented a 60% tax on profits for the Burgas refinery, with the rate set to reduce to 15% only after the asset's sale. The plant requires an investment of 500 million euros in modernization to process lighter non-Russian oil grades.
Earlier reports indicated that Bulgarian authorities had nationalized the Rosenets oil terminal near the port of Burgas, previously owned by the Russian company Lukoil.
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