site.btaGovernment May Put Lukoil Refinery under Operative Control, MPs Propose

The Democratic Bulgaria parliamentary group on Friday moved a bill aimed to allow the government to take operative control of the Lukoil Neftochim refinery near the seaport of Burgas if necessary. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) said they are considering a similar legislative proposal.

Democratic Bulgaria Floor Leader Hristo Ivanov told a briefing that the government should be able to take operative control of the refinery "if necessary and under very carefully defined conditions." Nadezhda Yordanova (Democratic Bulgaria) said the bill seeks to amend and supplement the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Involving Crude Oil and Petroleum Products. She said government control should be made possible under concrete scenarios.

Presenting the MRF's view, the group's Deputy Floor Leader Yordan Tsonev, who is also Deputy Chair of the National Assembly, said: "We should know exactly what kind of oil is coming and where it is coming from, what part of it is Russian and what part is not, what amounts are processed and where they are sent."

Tsonev explained that the derogation granted to Bulgaria from the EU ban on using Russian oil "is for the benefit of the Bulgarian citizens, not for the sake of profit for the commercial entity". "Our objective is to ensure that if export [from Lukoil Neftochim] is banned, the continuing operation of the refinery provides inexpensive fuel for the Bulgarian citizens," he added.