Bulgarian authorities nationalized Lukoil oil terminal
The Bulgarian government transferred the Rosenets oil terminal near the port of Burgas under state control. Previously, it belonged to the Russian company Lukoil. The Bulgarian authorities notified Lukoil about the termination of the terminal management concession back in mid-August.
The Minister of Transport and Communications of Bulgaria Georgi Gvozdeikov said that the government will not pay compensation to the concessionaire, as the contract was terminated due to force majeure. “From now on, Lukoil can seek its rights somewhere else, but not in Bulgaria. We obeyed the law and European regulation,” he said.
“Lukoil” signed a concession contract for the management of the Rosenets terminal in 2011. The term of the contract is 35 years. This summer, the Bulgarian parliament decided to terminate the agreement due to the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia due to its military intervention in Ukraine.
- At the moment, Bulgaria remains the only country in the EU that received exclusive permission to import Russian oil by sea until the end of 2024 – after the EU introduced an oil embargo against Russia in May 2022.
