Bulgaria Nationalises Oil Port of Russian Lukoil

The Bulgarian authorities have transferred the Rosenets oil terminal, which until recently was managed by the Russian oil company Lukoil, to the management of a state-owned enterprise.

This was announced by Bulgarian Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov in an interview with bTV.

According to the minister, Bulgaria has no compensation obligations to the Russian company, as the concession agreement was cancelled due to the sanctions imposed on Russia.

"The state has the capabilities, it also has the experience, no emergencies will be allowed, everything is within the law. Under the wording of the resolution, the state is not obliged to pay any compensation to the concessionaire. The concession was terminated due to force majeure circumstances relating to restrictive measures against the Russian Federation," Gvozdeykov said.

Minister Gvozdeykov also stressed that from now on, Lukoil "can pursue its rights somewhere else, but not in Bulgaria", as the country adheres to European laws and restrictions.

It should be added that the storage facilities where the oil terminal's raw materials are stored are still under the control of the Russian company. However, the state-owned Bulgarian operator has been given the opportunity to control what is imported into the port.

The proposal to terminate the concession agreement with the Russian oil giant was supported by the Bulgarian parliament back in July this year. At that time, 144 MPs voted in favour of the decision, while 52 voted against it.

Rosenets is an oil terminal on the Black Sea that specialises in the storage and transportation of petrochemical raw materials. It has been managed by Lukoil since 2011, when the Russian giant managed to sign a 35-year concession agreement.

It is also worth recalling that the day before it became known that Bulgaria had fined the Russian Lukoil 100 million euros.

This decision was made by the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission. In the course of the investigation, the Commission found that Lukoil unlawfully maintained a monopoly position in the market.

In particular, the Russian giant, in violation of the antitrust laws, restricted access to warehouses and infrastructure in the form of pipes used to transport raw materials to other companies. Thus, the Russian company managed to significantly limit imports by sea for its competitors.