Bulgaria to End Russian Oil Imports from March as Lukoil Considers Refinery Sale

  • Lawmakers end imports of Russian crude starting from March
  • Lukoil has said it may sell Bulgaria assets due to unfair laws
A gas pipeline linking the gas networks of Bulgaria and Serbia, on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria.Photographer: Oliver Bunic/Bloomberg
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Lukoil PJSC’s refinery in Bulgaria — the biggest in Southeast Europe — is facing a tighter deadline to switch to alternative fuel sources after lawmakers backed a ban on Russian oil imports from March.

Parliament approved a measure Monday that ends the country’s exemption from European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Under the new deadline, Bulgaria — one of the few countries that was exempt from an EU-wide ban on Russian crude imports until the end of 2024 — will end imports of Russian oil from March on the grounds that the exemption might be used to bypass sanctions.