Lukoil denies plans to sell Bulgarian refinery to Qatari-UK consortium

Russian oil company Lukoil on November 7 denied reports that it is in talks to sell its Bulgarian refinery to a Qatari-UK consortium. 

The denial was issued after the Financial Times reported on November 6 that Lukoil planned to sell the refinery to a consortium between Oryx Global and DL Hudson for an undisclosed sum. 

The Bulgarian refinery is Lukoil’s biggest asset and is the largest refinery in the Balkans.

The Financial Times had reported that a deal with the Qatari-UK consortium could be signed by the end of this year. 

The article said that Lukoil had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin about the deal, as the Russian president would have to approve it. However, Bulgaria has a golden share that would allow it to block the deal.

This was later denied by Lukoil. On November 7, Lukoil said that Litasco – a Lukoil-owned company that holds Lukoil Neftochim Burgas’ assets – denied it is holding talks to sell the refinery.

“The company emphasises that the assumptions made in these publications are inaccurate and misleading, in particular, no discussions are being held with the aforementioned Qatari-British consortium and no communications with the authorities of the Russian Federation took place on the subject,” Lukoil said in a press release on its website.

It added it was considering various options regarding its Bulgarian business but has not yet taken any specific decision. 

Bulgaria’s caretaker Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov also said he has no information about such a deal.

Previously, Lukoil said in December 2023 that it wanted to sell its Bulgarian assets following a decision of the then government to ban imports of Russian crude oil as of March 2024.

Back in December, then finance minister Assen Vassilev said that a possible sale of Lukoil’s business in the country did not pose a risk of the refinery having insufficient fuel, as the government already knew the company was preparing a sale. Vassilev added that the refinery’s operations should be secured with the appointment of a state representative.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has also expressed interest in acquiring the refinery.