Bulgaria will limit fuel exports to EU countries, concerned about the Russian Lukoil refinery.
Bulgarian parliament deputies voted 135 in favor, with four against and 42 abstentions, for a temporary ban on the export of petroleum products to EU countries. This was reported by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, noting that the ban mainly concerns diesel and aviation fuel.
The restrictions were introduced against the backdrop of the U.S. decision on sanctions against Lukoil, which owns the only oil refinery in the country. According to the parliamentary majority, the measures taken are preventive in nature and necessary to ensure Bulgaria's energy security and the stability of the domestic fuel market. In turn, the opposition accused the government, which proposed the measures, of sowing panic.
The Burgas refinery was acquired by Lukoil in 1998. Recently, Sofia has been pressuring it to sell the facility, in particular, forcing it to stop processing oil from Russia and imposing fines. In early 2025, the Bulgarian Prime Minister stated that there were seven bidders for the purchase of the refinery.
