Overview
- Parliament fast-tracked a law enabling a state-appointed manager to take operational control of the Burgas refinery, exercise shareholder voting rights and approve a sale, with powers that could extend to nationalization.
- Opposition lawmakers and energy experts warned the measure was rushed and legally risky, cautioning it could trigger lawsuits and blunt the intended impact of the sanctions.
- Romania, which hosts Lukoil’s Petrotel refinery, is drafting contingency steps and weighing a request to delay sanctions, with officials calling nationalization a last resort.
- Efforts to secure new owners were complicated as trader Gunvor withdrew its bid for Lukoil’s international assets after a U.S. Treasury rebuke, and any sale would require U.S. approval.
- EU responses vary, with Germany securing a six-month exemption for Schwedt and Hungary seeking a waiver, while analysts say Bulgaria relies on Burgas for up to 80% of its fuel and Romania’s smaller exposure could still strain supplies to Moldova.