site.btaUPDATED Lawmakers Broaden Authority of Special Administrator for Lukoil’s Bulgarian Assets amid Opposition Outcry

The Bulgarian Parliament on Friday expanded the powers of a future special commercial administrator (SCA) who will oversee the Bulgarian assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil. The move strips current shareholders of their voting and disposal rights, granting the SCA full control, including authority to approve or sell shares in the country’s largest refinery.

Opposition lawmakers were outraged by the revisions and how they were pushed through. Some accused the ruling coalition of paving the way for MRF–New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski to take control of the Burgas refinery through a proxy administrator.

The revisions were adopted in two readings held during a single sitting on Friday. They were supported by GERB–UDF, MRF–New Beginning, There Is Such a People, BSP–United Left, one MP from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS), and four independent MPs. Opposed were Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC–DB), Vazrazhdane, APS, and MECh. The Velichie party did not take part in the vote.

It is the second emergency legislation that Parliament adopts over the crisis with Lukoil in the past seven weeks. Last Friday it set in place a ban on the export of petrochemical products, mostly diesel.

Less than a day earlier, it transpired that Swiss commodity trader Gunvor had withdrawn its proposal to buy the foreign assets of Russian energy company Lukoil after the US Treasury Department called Gunvor Russia's puppet and signaled that Washington opposes the deal, Reuters reported on Friday.

US sanctions and Lukoil’s Bulgaria assets

On October 22, 2025, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) expanded its sanctions on Russia by designating that country's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, under Executive Order 14024. The idea is to step up economic pressure on Russia's energy sector, which is a critical source of revenue for the Kremlin's military operations in Ukraine.

The Lukoil assets in Bulgaria include Lukoil-Bulgaria EOOD (a chain of over 200 filling stations), Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD (the largest oil refinery in the Balkans), Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria EOOD (an aircraft refuelling operation), and Sustainable Energy Supply EOOD (marketing and trading in natural gas and other hydrocarbons).

Lukoil owns Lukoil Neftochim Burgas through its Swiss-registered subsidiary LITASCO, which holds a 89.97% stake in the facility. Another 9.88% of the refinery belong to another Lukoil affiliate, Lukoil Oil Company. The remaining 0.15% of the capital is distributed among over 7,700 individual and corporate shareholders.

According to the Commission for Protection of Competition, Lukoil Bulgaria has a relatively large market share in this country and is a market leader in the wholesale of automotive fuel, with a share fluctuating between 40-50% and 50-60%.

It is Lukoil's shareholding via LITASCO that places these key Bulgarian energy assets directly within the scope of the sanctions. The sanctions are expected to affect its ability to operate normally within the global financial system, potentially limiting its access to international banking services and supply chains that rely on US dollars or entities.

Expanded powers 

The bill that expanded the powers of the SCA was moved on Friday morning by MPs of the MRF – New Beginning, GERB-UDF, There Is Such a People, and BSP-United Left.

The amendments authorize the SCA to continue all refinery and operational activities of Lukoil’s Bulgarian facilities beyond November 21, 2025. A previous six-month limit on the SCA’s term is removed, as well as the provision allowing up to three individuals to share the role. The SCA is now empowered to change management bodies of operators of critical infrastructure and oil-related entities, and to appoint authorized representatives in subsidiaries. Upon an SCA appointment by the Council of Ministers, shareholders and owners of critical infrastructure or oil companies lose their voting and disposal rights over their shares, which will instead be exercised by the SCA. Any disposal of shares or equity must follow a market valuation and obtain approval from the Council of Ministers. Proceeds from such sales will be deposited in a special account under the control of the Minister of Finance at the Bulgarian Development Bank.

GERB leader Boyko Borissov told journalists in Parliament that once the parties forming the parliamentary majority convene, they will pick a SCA ”who can handle this task perfectly”. He said that the ruling coalition partners are “copying and upgrading the German model so that by November 21 we will be able to categorically inform our partners that not a single cent will go toward Russian companies that finance the war in Ukraine”.

MP Delyan Peevski called for swift action in the Lukoil case.

There Is Such a People leader Slavi Trifonov commented in a post on social media that Parliament acted “correctly and decisively” to prevent fuel shortages, and sharply criticizing opposition parties for opposing the legislation.

Reactions

In a comment made before the legislation was adopted, President Rumen Radev expressed concern that the government was leading Lukoil to what he called a “Bulgartabac scenario”.

The President was referring to the fate of Bulgaria’s one-time state-owned tobacco monopoly which was privatized bit by bit and most of it was liquidated.

Before the changes were voted through, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria said they would move for a hearing of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov, Economy Minister Petar Dilov and State Agency for National Security acting head Denyo Denev on the situation with Lukoil and fuel, and what plan they have to resolve it.

MP Ivaylo Mirchev said in a Facebook post that the ruling coalition made sure “Big D [a clear reference to Delyan Peevski] can take over” the Lukoil refinery in Burgas. He described a rushed parliamentary committee meeting as “a blatant violation of parliamentary rules”, accusing the government of acting in panic and merely following Peevski’s orders.

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov described the emergency legislation as “theft of a major asset”. “The moment the Bulgarian State, represented by Peevski and Borissov, lays hands on this asset, it will create very serious problems. Bulgarian assets in Russia will be confiscated,” he said.

MECh party leader Radostin Vasilev told journalists in Parliament that the State is forcibly seizing a private commercial enterprise and that his party will oppose it. “But keep in mind that they have already decided to steal Lukoil,” he added. He said that the SCA will be “whomever Delyan Peevski chooses”.