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Russian state energy group Lukoil is planning to sell its refinery in Bulgaria — its largest asset in the Balkans — to a Qatari-British consortium by the end of the year in a sign of Moscow’s weakening influence over energy supplies in south-east Europe.
The company is selling its majority stake in Lukoil Neftohim Burgas, a major refinery on the Black Sea coast, the group said in a letter to the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin seen by the Financial Times. Putin must endorse the deal.
Lukoil has chosen a consortium made up of Oryx Global, controlled by Qatari businessman Ghanim Bin Saad Al Saad, and London-based commodity trading house DL Hudson as its preferred buyer and said it wanted to close the deal before the end of the year.
Oryx declined to comment. DL Hudson did not respond to requests for comment.
An EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has made it increasingly difficult for Lukoil to operate in Bulgaria.
An EU and Nato member, Bulgaria has also put pressure on Lukoil to exit. Last year, it hit the company with a 60 per cent tax on profits in an effort to force out its owners. It also banned the export of Russian crude-based products from Lukoil Neftohim Burgas.
Bulgaria, which was friendly to Russia before the invasion, has shipped crucial ammunition and weapons to Kyiv and even diesel from the Lukoil refinery in the first part of the war.
Relations between the two countries were further strained after accusations that the Russians attempted to sabotage Bulgarian weapons production facilities.
Emilian Gebrev, whose company Emco produces much of the Bulgarian output of Soviet-standard bullets and tank shells shipped to Kyiv, told the FT last year that Russian saboteurs had actively targeted his factories and depots.
Some commentators say the Bulgarians should have put more pressure on Lukoil to exit before now because of security risks.
Ruslan Stefanov, programme director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy, a Sofia-based think-tank, said: “This is clearly the worst economic security risk in Europe and Nato.
“What if EDF in France, Eni in Italy or BP in the UK was Russian-owned? Would it still have taken 1,000 days of Ukraine bombardment to act?”
The final round of bidders for the company also includes Socar, the state energy company of Azerbaijan, KazMunayGas, the state energy group of Kazakhstan, and Turkish oil group Opet, according to the letter sent to Putin’s office.
Socar, KazMunayGas and Opet did not respond to requests for comment.
Overall, at least half a dozen groups have expressed interest in buying the company, according to two people familiar with the matter.