Bulgarien plant, russische Ölraffinerie zu beschlagnahmen und zu verkaufen

Summary:

Bulgaria is preparing legal changes to allow it to appoint a special manager to seize operational control of Lukoil’s Burgas refinery (the country’s only refinery) and sell it to a new owner without Lukoil’s vote or appeal, aiming to protect energy security and avoid U.S. secondary sanctions. The move follows Western sanctions on major Russian oil firms and Lukoil’s announcement that commodity trader Gunvor may buy its foreign assets—though it’s unclear which assets Gunvor will keep. Bulgarian officials say the special-manager measure will prevent supply disruption; the provision for such intervention was first introduced in 2023.