Bulgarian Govt Invites 'Bad Guys' Lukoil to Keep Its Fuel Reserves

The Bulgarian government has invited the Lukoil Neftochim refinery to keep some additional 3,600 tonnes of jet fuel for its state reserves, show procurement records.

This move comes just as the Bulgarian state and Lukoil are engaged in a protracted legal dispute after end of July the government cancelled Lukoil's license for breach of tax regulations.

Officers from Bulgaria's State Reserve Agency explained to Dnevnik.bg that the invitation to Lukoil was necessitated by the fact that the Agency does not own adequate tanks, and that as a matter of fact the company is the only one in Bulgaria to have such facilities available.

Among the facts that transpired in the Lukoil controversy over the summer was that in case that the refinery - the largest in the country - stops working, there will be a grave shortage of jet fuel in the country.

This raised suspicions that Lukoil occupies a monopoly position in the jet fuel segment of the market, upon which a probe was launched by Bulgaria's competition watchdog agency.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!