site.btaPM Believes There Will Be No Preconditions for Petroleum Products Export Ban in Near Future

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov Friday said that insofar as the ban on the export of petroleum products was linked to the need to meet the needs of the Bulgarian market mainly with diesel fuel, he believes that these preconditions will no longer exist in the near future. "The National Assembly must decide to lift this moratorium," he noted, speaking during Question Time in Parliament on Friday.

Krasimir Manov MP of Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) asked when the moratorium on diesel and jet fuel exports would be lifted, noting that the refinery in Burgas was operating at a capacity reduced by 50% and that state revenues had fallen significantly.

The ban on the export of petroleum products was imposed by the National Assembly, so it is entirely within Parliament's powers to revoke this decision when it so decides, Zhelyazkov said. "The refinery is currently operational. The reduced capacity for production of petroleum products has been a trend over the past year and is not related to the sanctions on Lukoil, but rather to the international oil price situation. So there is no direct link between the production of petroleum products and the ban on their export," he added. 

In late October, the National Assembly temporarily banned the export and intra-Community supply of petroleum products, mainly diesel and aviation fuel, to European Union Member States. The measure was prompted by the need to ensure the country's energy security and the stability of the domestic fuel market, as well as by the sanctions imposed by the US on the Russian company Lukoil.

Manov also asked Zhelyazkov about an engineering consultancy contract signed between Kozloduy NPP New Build and a Canadian consortium for the construction of Units 7 and 8. He said that on September 11, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling on state aid for new nuclear power capacity, and that the implication of this ruling was that such facilities - specifically Units 7 and 8 - could not be built in the way Bulgaria had set about. Manov therefore asked when the Council of Ministers intended to take a decision to terminate the project.

Zhelyazkov said that Bulgaria should develop its nuclear energy sector, as it is one of the pillars of the country’s competitiveness. As to the construction of the new capacity, he noted that a supervision contract had recently been signed. This is part of the overall package for the project, he said. "I assure you that it fully complies with both national and European legislation," the Prime Minister added.