Baku is ready to consider the possibility of buying the "Lukoil Neftohim Burgas" oil refinery in Bulgaria, if it receives a specific offer, write a number of Azeri, Russian and Ukrainian media, reported BGNES.
In September 2023, the Bulgarian parliament approved the gradual suspension of Russian oil imports. Although Bulgaria and several other EU countries were granted an exemption from the ban on Russian oil imports until the end of 2024, MPs voted to limit the use of Russian crude in the Lukoil refinery to 80% by the end of 2023. and for its complete abandonment by October 2024.
Bulgaria subsequently introduced a 60% profit tax for the Burgas refinery, with the rate only to be reduced to 15% after the sale of the asset. The plant needs an investment of 500 million euros for modernization to be able to process lighter non-Russian grades of oil.
"If an offer is made to purchase the oil refinery in Burgas, SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) and our government are ready to consider it," the ambassador of Azerbaijan in Sofia, Husein Huseinov, told Euronews.
The diplomat added that there must be a concrete proposal for discussion, "which is not there so far".
This year, in April, the Azeri state oil company SOCAR opened an office in Sofia. /BGNES
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