Bulgaria Bans Russian Oil in Blow to Lukoil Refinery

  • Parliament backs gradually stopping Russia supply by Oct. 2024
  • Lukoil’s Neftohim site is southeast Europe’s biggest refinery

Lukoil Neftochim Burgas near the city of Burgas, Bulgaria.

Photographer: Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty Images

Bulgarian lawmakers on Thursday approved a motion to gradually end imports of Russian crude, bringing the country in line with other European Union members.

The move will force Lukoil PJSC’s local Neftohim refinery, the biggest in southeast Europe, to look for alternative feedstock. That’s a tall order since the plant processes mostly Russian crude, and the most obvious replacement barrels — from Kazakhstan — are already in demand in neighboring Romania.

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Bulgaria Bans Russian Oil in Blow to Lukoil Refinery