Speculations Mount as SOCAR Emerges as Likely Buyer of Lukoil Neftohim Burgas Refinery

Speculations are rife about the potential buyer for Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery, with Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR emerging as the primary contender, as reported by Trud newspaper.

Recent developments suggest SOCAR's interest in acquiring the refinery. In April 2023, SOCAR inaugurated an office in Sofia in the presence of the Bulgarian and Azerbaijani presidents, Rumen Radev and Ilham Aliyev. Concurrently, SOCAR Trading Gas and Power obtained a license from the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation to trade natural gas in Bulgaria.

Economist Evgeny Kanev and Delyan Dobrev, GERB's deputy and energy commission chair, have backed SOCAR as the potential buyer, indicating the geographical suitability of Burgas' production and logistics for raw material supply.

Industry experts highlight interest in the refinery from entities within the Black Sea region. SOCAR, known for its significant presence in Turkey with a substantial refinery, and Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas, the owner of Romanian Rompetrol, are among the speculated interested parties, as per Capital reports.

Notably, SOCAR's recent agreement with Lukoil involves a .5 billion loan to SOCAR and supplying the STAR oil refinery in Turkey with up to 200,000 barrels per day of Russian crude oil, according to Reuters.

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