Lukoil Crisis Won't Cause Fuel Supply Shortages at Bulgarian State-Owned Transport Companies

Bulgarian Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski has assuaged fears that the imminent closure of the Lukoil refinery will cause fuel supply shortages in the transportat sector. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgarian Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski has assured that currently there is no indication of a fuel supply shortage for the Bulgarian State Railways BDZ, Sofia Airport and the major ports in the country.

The announcement comes on the heels of the anticipated closure of the Lukoil Neftochim refinery, the sole operational crude oil processing plant in Bulgaria, over its failure to comply with legal requirements and install measuring devices.

Moskovski's media statement also informs that a specially created task force has conducted an analysis of the available fuel stocks in the companies functioning under the control of the the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications (MTITC).

Lukoil supplies 100% of the fuels used by Holding BDZ EAD. The state-owned railway company has reserves for one week.

According to the MTITC, preparations are underway for the provision of alternative suppliers through commodity exchange transactions.

Bulgarian ports reportedly have sufficient fuel in store.

They also have the opportunity to get fuel supplies from other sources in order to be able to carry out their daily activities.

The only company which supplies fuel to airline companies landing at Sofia Airport is Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria EOOD.

In the case of an emergency, the airline companies can resort to a procedure involving filling up with larger fuel volumes at the airport of departure.

The nearest options to do this are Romania and Greece.

Apart from that, kerosene stocks are stored in the State reserve.

Sofia Airport has said that it expects the crisis to be resolved within days, which would serve everybody's interests.

According to the management of the airport, it has enough fuel to service aircraft for one week, with a secondary plan in store in case the crisis exacerbates.

No flight disruptions over fuel shortages are expected.

 

 

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