Bulgaria, which seeks to emancipate itself from Moscow, will impose a European embargo on Russian oil transported by sea starting in March, renouncing the exemption from which it benefited, according to a text adopted on Monday by Parliament. The EU imposed sanctions in December 2022 aimed at reducing EU-27 imports of Russian crude oil by around 90%, aiming to deplete funding for the Moscow-led war in Ukraine.
Bulgaria, highly dependent on Russian energy, had then obtained an exception that was to end in December 2024. In fact, it has on its territory a refinery of the Russian oil giant Lukoil, the largest in the Balkans. But Parliament finally decided on an early closure, “to deprive Lukoil and therefore the Kremlin of new profits that could fuel the offensive carried out in Ukraine,” write the authors of the amendment. It was adopted by 131 deputies, with socialists and pro-Kremlin ultranationalists boycotting the vote, and some elected officials even blocking access to the platform in a tense atmosphere.
Three billion dollars in revenue in almost two years
According to estimates cited in the legislation, “Lukoil’s activities in Bulgaria have earned it $3 billion since the start of the Russian invasion.” Therefore, the company will no longer be able to import Russian crude oil from March for its factory located in Burgas, on the Black Sea, and will have to turn to other sources of supply. Or separate from the refinery, an option discussed at the beginning of December in light of the measures considered “discriminatory” adopted by the pro-European government in Sofia.
For the past twenty years, Lukoil enjoyed a virtual monopoly, with a network made up of nine oil depots and 220 service stations. Bulgaria could struggle to supply crude oil when the exemption ends, according to experts, citing a lack of adequate port infrastructure and congestion in the Bosphorus Strait.
Source: BFM TV
