site.btaLUKOIL Reserves Right to Take Legal Action if its Interests in Bulgaria Are Violated

The LUKOIL Public Joint Stock Company said on Wednesday that it "reserves the right to seek judicial remedies to protect its rights and legitimate interests in the event of their violation".

The Russian company's statement, published on its website, comes after all powers of the governing bodies of LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas, LUKOIL Bulgaria and other LUKOIL Group entities in Bulgaria were transferred to a special commercial administrator, effective November 17, 2025.

"LUKOIL expects that the external administrator will act in strict compliance with applicable law to ensure the continuity of operations, including maintaining the normal functioning of these entities to supply the Bulgarian market with fuel, pay taxes, and uphold the high standards of social policy towards refinery employees that have been established and maintained by LUKOIL," the statement reads.

In a letter circulated by the GR and PR centre of the LUKOIL Group entities in Bulgaria on Monday, Rumen Spetsov, who was recently appointed special commercial administrator for these entities, stated that the companies remain "firmly committed to maintaining stability, predictability and security in the energy sector, and will continue to inform the public in a timely and transparent manner about all subsequent actions related to the regulatory framework".

The companies "will continue to carry out their operational and commercial activities with full transparency and in line with legal requirements. Fuel supplies and the production process will not be interrupted. Strict financial control will be imposed with full compliance with international regulations and sanctions regimes," Spetsov wrote.

"LUKOIL International GmbH, which consolidates LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas, LUKOIL Bulgaria and other LUKOIL Group entities in Bulgaria, has obtained from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) a General License valid until  December 13, 2025 for the purpose of facilitating the sale of LUKOIL's international assets," the Russian company said on Wednesday. "LUKOIL is taking all necessary steps to complete the sale of the refinery, the filling stations network and other assets in Bulgaria to a new owner and expects that the activities of the external administrator will not impede this process," the company pointed out.

Spetsov's appointment on November 14 and the broadening of the powers of the commercial administrator by legal amendments were rushed after the US imposed sanctions on LUKOIL on October 22, 2025. Effective November 21, 2025, all property and interests in property of these companies and their subsidiaries that fall under US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons and entities are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them without authorization.

LUKOIL's majority shareholding in these companies via its Swiss-registered subsidiary Litasco places them directly within the scope of the sanctions.

OFAC issued a general license dated November 14, 2925 authorizing all transactions involving the four LUKOIL entities in Bulgaria and their majority-owned subsidiaries. The licence will remain valid until April 29, 2026.

Also on November 14, Britain's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) at HM Treasury granted a temporary licence permitting the continued operation of LUKOIL's Bulgarian subsidiaries, allowing payments and business activities involving the companies to proceed despite UK sanctions against Russia. The licence will remain valid until February 14, 2026.