site.btaGovernment Declares Two Lukoil Subsidiaries National Security Assets

The Council of Ministers has taken the necessary steps to designate two companies within the Lukoil group - Lukoil Aviation Ltd. and Lukoil Bulgaria Bunker Ltd. - as facilities related to the national security of Bulgaria, Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Poulev said during a briefing following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Poulev stressed that while the Government respects private property and business interests, it is guided above all by the interests of Bulgarian citizens, households, and consumers.

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that Parliament is currently debating the first-reading amendments to the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Associated with Oil and Petroleum Products. The changes became necessary after the Constitutional Court ruled that some of the provisions adopted last year were unconstitutional.

Poulev said that Bulgaria will once again seek an extension of the US sanctions waiver, adding that the deadline for renewing the licence is in October. An official request to extend the waiver licence was submitted by the UK authorities last week.

"We have taken all the necessary measures. At all times, through the institution of the special commercial manager, the Bulgarian Government has ensured compliance with the sanctions. We have not been in breach for a single day or even an hour. Not a single molecule of Russian oil has been processed at Lukoil Bulgaria, and only non-sanctioned oil suppliers are being used," Poulev said.

He added that the State will continue to exercise all necessary oversight to ensure that the sanctions regime is not jeopardized and that management is not returned to Russian executives, which would automatically result in a breach of the sanctions.