UK grants temporary sanctions exemption for Lukoil subsidiary in Bulgaria

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SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s economy received a temporary relief Friday after Britain announced a three-month reprieve from sanctions on Lukoil’s local subsidiaries, according to the official news agency BTA.

The agency quoted the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in London as saying that the license permits Lukoil Bulgaria to continue doing business with UK companies and banks.

Officials in Sofia said the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is expected to issue a similar extension to the sanctions deadline, which prohibits transactions with the Russian company after Nov. 21.

When asked if the U.S. sanctions derogation could take effect that day, Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said he could not provide a precise timeline, but he expects it to happen soon.

“We have assurances that the measures we have implemented and communicated, in line with the goals of the sanctions and the interests of Bulgarian society, are adequate,” he told reporters.

Lukoil’s subsidiary near the Black Sea port city of Burgas, is the largest oil refinery in the Balkans. With its nationwide network of oil depots and gas stations, it's also Bulgaria’s largest company.

On Friday, the government appointed Rumen Spetsov, the current head of the National Revenue Agency, as the refinery’s commercial manager, tasking him with securing its continued operation.

In another move, lawmakers voted 128–59 to overturn the presidential veto on a bill that allows the government to take control of the refinery and sell it, thus protecting it from sanctions. President Rumen Radev had warned that the bill could trigger future financial claims against the state.