Bulgaria Blocks Bypass Routes for Sanctions that Brought Russia €1 Billion

Bulgaria refuses exclusive "exemption" from sanctions after reports that this "loophole" helped the Russian oil company Lukoil earn 1 billion euros.

This is reported by Politico.

Consensus on such a decision was found by parties supporting the ruling coalition upon publishing data indicating that the sanctions relief granted to Bulgaria allowed millions of barrels of Russian oil to enter the Bulgarian oil refinery. Later, Russian oil products were exported to European Union countries.

Recall that the exception granted to Bulgaria from the EU ban on importing Russian crude oil by sea was a step that seemed to aim to protect the country from an energy resource deficit.

Currently, the government has announced that such an exception will cease to apply on March 1, 2024, instead of the previously self-set date of October 31, 2024.

"With March 1 as the end date for the derogation, it is guaranteed that there will be no shocks on the domestic fuel market," said Bulgarian Finance Minister Asen Vasilev.

In addition, Vasilev, who was directly involved in negotiations regarding the easing of sanctions for Bulgaria in Brussels last year, also expressed support for the suspension of export quotas for the Lukoil-owned oil refinery from January 1, 2024.

Technically, Lukoil did not violate sanctions. However, from March to July of this year, it shipped almost three million barrels of Russian oil products by sea, including to EU countries such as Malta.

Recall that information about Russia's oil exports indicates that Russia has learned to almost completely bypass existing sanctions. In a comment to FT, a high-ranking European official stated that "almost none" of the shipments of Russian oil by sea in October were made at a price below $60 per barrel—the price limit imposed by G7 countries.

In the year of the existence of the "price ceiling" for Russian oil, Russia lost the European market. Instead, the Kremlin managed to build new routes for legalization and supply of oil to Latin America, the Middle East, India, and China.