site.btaBulgaria's Fuel Supplies Sufficient to Support Citizens, Businesses for a While - Energy Minister Stankov

The quantities of fuel available on the territory of Bulgaria are sufficient to supply Bulgarian citizens and businesses for a long period of time, Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov told journalists here on Tuesday. He was speaking at the Fortifying Freedom: Defence and Democracy Dialogue, held here on Tuesday. The forum was organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy. 

“First and foremost is the security of supply at affordable prices — this is guaranteed,” the Minister stated.

“As Minister of Energy, I have two main tasks assigned to me. The first is to maintain ongoing communication with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in order to achieve a positive outcome that would allow the oil refinery in Burgas to continue operating after November 21. The second, equally important task concerns ensuring the security of fuel supplies to all Bulgarian citizens,” Minister Stankov explained.

Asked whether the Government had a “Plan B,” the Energy Minister replied that he was confident “Plan A” would work well.

The refined fuels currently stored abroad would be sufficient to meet consumption needs for about four to five days, Stankov added. Bringing them into the country would not significantly change the situation, he noted.

Within just seven days, Parliament twice adopted emergency legislation in response to the U.S. sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil and their impact on its assets in Bulgaria. First, lawmakers banned exports and intra-EU deliveries of petroleum products—mainly diesel—to EU member states. Then, they approved legal amendments related to the functions of a special commercial administrator for the refinery and other Lukoil facilities in Bulgaria.

Earlier in the day, Asen Asenov, Chair of the State Agency State Reserve and Wartime Stocks, said in an interview for bTV that Bulgaria has petrol reserves sufficient for about 35 days and diesel reserves for more than 50 days. 

Yes, Bulgaria Co-Chair and Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) MP Ivaylo Mirchev said later on Tuesday that Bulgaria must urgently request its fuel reserves stored abroad. "The head of the [State Agency] State Reserve [and Wartime Stocks] has just confirmed what I have been saying since the beginning of the crisis with the sanctions against Lukoil — our 90-day fuel reserves are not actually 90-day reserves,” Mirchev warned.