site.btaLukoil Refinery Saves USD 8 Mln After Removing Intermediary Litasco

Eight million dollars have been saved during the two months since the Switzerland-based company Litasco was removed as intermediary, Lukoil special administrator Rumen Spetsov told the parliamentary economic policy committee. At its meeting the committee adopted the report of the special administrator.

Spetsov briefed MPs on how the Lukoil group operated in Bulgaria prior to his appointment. The refinery operated under the umbrella of a single trading company, Litasco, which acted as a commercial intermediary between Lukoil International, which owns the oil reserves, and the refinery.

In its commercial dealings, the company received commission fees.

"Now this element no longer exists, and over two months, after the intermediary was removed, USD 8 million have been saved," Spetsov said.

He also said that the financial situation of the refinery has been stabilized, including through deferred payments and barter deals of fuel for crude oil with partners, noting that the result for January was positive.

According to information contained in Spetsov’s report and cited by the parliamentary group of Vazrazhdane, in February the refinery processed 480,000 tonnes, compared to an optimal 550,000 tonnes.

In November, Rumen Spetsov was appointed as special commercial administrator to oversee Russian oil company Lukoil's four operations in Bulgaria ahead of new US sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft that were due to take effect on November 21.