A swift withdrawal of Russian crude oil for Russian Lukoil’s Bulgarian refinery could lead to a regional crisis, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov has warned, according to Euractiv.
Bulgaria’s two Euro-Atlantic parties, GERB and DPS, are actively advocating the idea of immediately lifting restrictions for Lukoil on Russian oil imports. The government is warning of serious risks if Bulgaria’s refinery, the largest in the Balkans, is forced to shut down operations due to oil shortages.
“Yes, the market is open, maybe after some time it will be able to recover through imports, maybe after some time the refinery will resume, but no one has done it to know how much it costs and how long it will take. With all the political and economic instability – because it’s a problem for people, prices can rise significantly.”
Denkov emphasised that the Lukoil refinery is the only supplier of aviation fuel in Bulgaria.
Anyone who underestimates these risks is playing with fire.
The Bulgarian government will fast-track a project for an oil pipeline from the Greek port of Alexandroupolis to Burgas on the model of an interconnector with Greece, which could bring Azerbaijani gas to other Balkan countries.
The Prime Minister stated the high regional interest in the pipeline and its economic benefits combined with the operation of the Burgas refinery. Bulgaria plans to build the pipeline to export already produced fuel, and in case of market problems Bulgaria will be able to quickly import it from Greece.
Romania is also interested in the pipeline to Burgas, considering financing its extension to the border. The project and the extension of the oil pipeline north to Romania were one of the topics at a trilateral meeting of the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania on October 9 in Varna.
Changes to the Grand Slam oil pipeline project were agreed with Bulgaria’s pro-Russian President Georgi Parvanov and Vladimir Putin in 2008. It originally envisaged the construction of an oil pipeline from Burgas to Alexandroupolis to transport Russian oil to Greece, but now it is about supplying oil from the Mediterranean region, bypassing the Bosporus.
Bulgaria is interested in such reliable supplies so that tankers do not pass through the straits. The idea is to create a company that will build the oil pipeline and operate it, similar to the project company that built and operates the Interconnector with Greece (ICGB).
The original idea was to build a 285km-long pipeline with a capacity of up to 35 million tonnes to transport oil to bypass the congested Bosphorus, but it was not implemented.
The interim government of current Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has thawed the idea with the intention of providing Lukoil with alternative sources of oil as the derogation from Russian oil imports by sea to Bulgaria expires at the end of 2024.
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister also told Euractiv that Greece, Serbia and North Macedonia were interested in signing long-term contracts to purchase electricity from the future Kozloduy NPP Units 7 and 8, which would utilise AP1000 nuclear reactors.
“There is interest from different countries. A model must be made of how electricity is purchased. There is interest from Greece, North Macedonia and Serbia, most likely. But they should decide what they prefer, as we have to decide what is more profitable for us – whether to enter as investors in the project or to be with fixed contracts for the purchase of electricity. From what I hear, it seems that they prefer the second option, but the discussion is open.”
Denkov added that Bulgaria would use the two new reactors as the base capacity of the power system while gradually phasing out coal.
