Law and owner: Bulgaria is preparing to seize Lukoil's assets
The Bulgarian government, with the support of the European Union, is provoking a fuel crisis and, in order to cope with it, is trying to seize Lukoil's assets, the country's parliament told Izvestia. Earlier, the ruling coalition adopted a law on the introduction of external management of the company's property — it has already entered into force, strict security measures are being introduced at the refinery in Burgas. Romania, the Netherlands and Finland may also take control of Lukoil's assets on their territory if they fail to obtain exemptions from US sanctions. Analysts are confident that Russia has no way to prevent the establishment of external control over the assets of companies in the EU countries and it is better to switch to short-term contracts with all.
The situation with Lukoil's assets in Bulgaria
US sanctions against the Russian oil company Lukoil come into force only on November 21 (transactions related to the sale of Lukoil's international business are allowed until December 13), but they have already caused an emergency situation in Bulgaria. This country receives about 80% of its fuel from the Lukoil refinery in Burgas. According to local media, Bulgaria has only 35 days of gasoline reserves left, and there is a risk of shortage.
The current Bulgarian government, with the support of the EU, is provoking a fuel crisis in the country in order to eventually seize Lukoil's assets, Ivelin Mikhailov, leader of the parliamentary opposition party Greatness, told Izvestia.
— There is indeed a fuel crisis in Bulgaria, but it is even more likely that the government itself will provoke it. The EU is well aware that they are implementing schemes that harm the population, but Ursula von der Leyen personally supports Boyko Borisov (leader of the ruling party and former prime minister. The Greatness Party has left the National Assembly because we refuse to participate in this farce of embezzlement of private assets. Unfortunately, all eight parliamentary parties are involved in this scheme," the deputy told Izvestia.
Mikhailov clarified that the SWORD and Renaissance parties had already called for the nationalization of the refinery, which was the first step towards embezzlement. Then the ruling GERB, DPS, BSP and ITN parties began the final stage of this robbery. "The former acted as a fictitious opposition, preparing the theft, and the latter carried it out," the politician said.
Recall that Washington announced the inclusion of Lukoil in the sanctions lists in October. And despite the opposition's resistance and the veto of President Rumen Radev, the ruling coalition was able to pass a law on the actual introduction of external management at the Burgas plant.
After that, employees of Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security entered Lukoil's offices in the country, and the military is deploying anti-drone systems near the Burgas refinery. Russian Ambassador to Sofia Eleonora Mitrofanova said earlier that "it looks like a law on the expropriation of property, creating a dangerous precedent." Izvestia also sent a request to the Lukoil press service.
Why did the Bulgarian authorities take control of the oil refinery in Burgas
The Bulgarian government is currently acting according to the scheme of the German authorities, who in September 2022 introduced external management of Rosneft's assets, retaining its formal ownership. Sofia is also trying to negotiate an exemption from sanctions from the United States, as Hungary had previously done with the Paks-2 nuclear power plant.
Construction of Paks-2 NPP
Bulgaria partially succeeded in this. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has authorized operations with a number of Lukoil entities in Bulgaria until April 29, 2026. The UK authorities also issued licenses to the operator of the Burgas refinery, allowing banks and companies to work with them until February 14. Transactions related to the sale of other international assets of Lukoil can be carried out until December 13.
However, the complete nationalization of Lukoil's assets remains an unlikely scenario precisely because of the US position, Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the National Energy Security Fund, told Izvestia.
— During nationalization, Lukoil will have to be compensated, which the Americans will not like. They want these assets to be bought cheaper by some American company," the expert believes.
In addition, Bulgaria has restricted fuel exports to EU countries. Such a decision could lead to shortages and higher prices in neighboring countries, including Serbia. According to Mikhailov, with the help of the fuel crisis, the Bulgarian authorities will be able to make money by sending fuel illegally to neighboring countries.
— Even if the situation can be controlled, they will deliberately create a crisis on which they will be able to earn significant funds, and will engage in smuggling to Serbia, as they did during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Boyko Borisov was one of those who guarded the smuggling convoys heading to the war zone. Now they are making deals with international players in order to repeat this scenario and benefit again," said the leader of the Greatness party.
Control over the strategic enterprise is also necessary for the political survival of the current Bulgarian government. Since 2021, seven parliamentary elections have been held in the country, the last marked by an extremely low turnout of about 40%. Now the authorities fear the start of protests due to a possible shortage of gasoline, followed by a political crisis. Discontent is also caused by the transition to the euro from January 1, 2026, which is actively opposed by the opposition.
The fate of Russian companies' assets in EU countries
The Bulgarian authorities decided to take control of Russian assets at the suggestion of the EU and the United States. Washington is seeking to replace Russia as a supplier of energy resources to European countries. The likelihood that Russia will be able to prevent the nationalization of its companies' assets is now tending to zero, and other EU countries may follow Bulgaria's example, political analyst Vadim Trukhachev told Izvestia.
For example, the Romanian authorities have stated that they are considering the possibility of nationalizing the Petrotel refinery in Ploiesti, owned by Lukoil. Bucharest is currently in contact with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to find a solution. Following Sofia's example, the Romanian authorities are also preparing to establish external management at the plant.
Lukoil also has a stake in the Zeeland refinery in the Netherlands, and the local authorities declare their intention to sell this enterprise as soon as possible. Finnish consumers are also suffering: the local Teboil gas station chain, owned by Lukoil, is reducing its operations. Helsinki is looking for a buyer, as in the event of a complete shutdown of Teboil, gasoline prices are expected to rise sharply in the north of Finland.
The management of Lukoil announced in late October that it intends to sell its foreign assets in connection with the imposition of sanctions. The potential buyer was the oil trader Gunvor, but the US Treasury opposed it. According to Reuters, the Carlyle investment fund is now interested in buying assets. According to the representative of the European Commission, the sale of Lukoil's assets in the EU countries is possible, since the company itself is not under EU sanctions, but the transaction must take place in compliance with anti-Russian sanctions.
— It's time to switch to short-term contracts with Europe, not excluding Hungary and Slovakia, where Viktor Orban and Robert Fico do not last forever. The government there may change to a more anti—Russian one," Trukhachev believes.
The expert concluded that it is impossible to count on stable relations with any European country, so it remains to switch to a system of fixed-term contracts, maximum annual.
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