ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Burgas refinery switches to oil from Kazakhstan, Iraq and Tunisia

Photo: Ani Petrova

According to the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in January Bulgaria replaced imports of Russian oil with imports from Kazakhstan, Iraq and Tunisia, reports BTA, citing Reuters. 

Bulgaria has a derogation from the EU embargo against Russia, allowing it to import Russian oil by sea through 2024. But the country has restricted exports of all refined products produced from Russian crude from this month, making it almost impossible for its sole refinery Lukoil Neftochim Burgas to run on Russian oil, and has decided to stop all Russian crude imports from March.

Bulgaria was the fourth largest buyer of Russian oil by sea in 2023, with more than 100,000 barrels per day. The profitability of the plant is also affected by a 60% tax imposed by the Bulgarian government on the refinery's profits. The Russian company has already said that it is considering selling its assets in Bulgaria. Reuters notes that Lukoil and the Bulgarian Economy Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the information.


Bulgaria can take over operation of Russian company Lukoil's Neftochim Burgas refinery for up to a year, lawmakers decided on Friday in a vote aimed at protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring fuel supplies for the Balkan country. In doing so, Sofia is paving the way to take control of Lukoil's oil refinery if necessary, comments Reuters.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria Economy    Iraq Kazakhstan Lukoil Neftochim Burgas oil Russia Tunisia

More from category

The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) expects inflation in the country to continue to rise until the end of 2025

The lack of sufficient manpower and strong private consumption are the main reasons for inflation, according to the second "Economic Review" of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) for the year. Annual inflation is 2.9%, increasing by 2.1% by May 2025..

published on 8/7/25 8:53 AM

The economy of expectations – how the fear of price increases actually leads to price increases

After months of low inflation and even temporary deflation in April this year, according to official national statistics, the trend abruptly reversed. On July 15, literally days after Bulgaria received a green light from Brussels for..

published on 8/6/25 9:51 AM
Rumen Draganov

Adopting the euro will not make tourism more expensive, it will even reduce some prices

Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone on January 1, 2026 will not make vacations more expensive. This is what Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analysis and Forecasts in Tourism told the Bulgarian National Radio. The prices..

published on 8/4/25 11:14 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 20 | Max: 30
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 32
Clear
Min: 15 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 21 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 14 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 12 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 15 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 14 | Max: 32
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 13 | Max: 32
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 15 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 15 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 14 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 36
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"