Romania and Bulgaria in a race against time to protect their Russian-owned refineries before US sanctions kick in / There's also a 'last option'

Romania and Bulgaria are in a race against time to prevent the closure of their refineries before US sanctions against Lukoil, the Russian company that owns them, take effect this month, writes Politico.eu.

Washington's decision to blacklist Lukoil and Rosneft has thrown EU countries home to Russia's two biggest oil companies into chaos as they try to prevent disruption to fuel supplies before US sanctions take effect on November 21.

The Bulgarian parliament has already prepared legislative solutions

Bulgarian lawmakers approved a new bill on Friday that would allow the government to appoint an administrator of the giant Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery, giving it expanded powers to take operational control of the facility, approve its sale and nationalize it if necessary.

Meanwhile, Sofia is probing the waters to request a waiver from the sanctions, Politico notes.

Neftochim is the only refinery in Bulgaria and the largest private company in the country in terms of revenues, being important also in terms of contribution to the state budget and GDP.

Nationalization of the Petrotel refinery, “the last option”

Romania – where Lukoil's Petrotel refinery is located – has not yet made an official decision. But Bucharest is also considering asking for an “extension of sanctions” as it develops its own response, said a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

Nationalization is considered the “last option”, added the Romanian official.

However, Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan-Gruia Ivan told Politico that Bucharest is operationally “prepared” for any scenario. The government's plan will aim to preserve “Romania's economic activity but, at the same time, stop financing the Russian Federation,” he added.

The Petrotel Ploiesti refinery has been for sale for almost ten years, but the investors were not interested. One of the causes is the fact that the refinery has outdated facilities and requires very large investments, an oil specialist recently explained to HotNews.

Closing Petrotel would make fuel more expensive in Romania and hit the Republic of Moldova hard

The Petrotel refinery supplies approximately “20%” of Romania's fuel, Ana Otilia Nuțu, energy analyst at the Expert Forum think-tank, told Politico.

A shutdown would therefore cause “several months” of mild price increases, she said, while Romania looks for imports to replace lost production.

Moreover, the closure of Petrotel could affect exports to the Republic of Moldova, she added. And “if Moldova will be affected very badly, then it will be another… huge PR opportunity for Russia,” Nuțu said.

As for the assets of Lukoil in the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau wants to take them over to the state administration. The Russian company controls 33% of the Moldovan diesel market and 50% of the gasoline market.

The authorities of the Republic of Moldova have already submitted an offer to purchase the Lukoil warehouse in the Airport, to take over the company's infrastructure and resources. Currently, Chisinau International Airport is exclusively dependent on kerosene from Lukoil.

“At the same time, as other EU countries have done, we have requested a temporary waiver from the US to operate the company under sanctions until we solve the problem, so that the supply of oil resources of the Republic of Moldova is not disrupted, and the daily lives of people are not affected. At the same time, we are in continuous discussions with Bulgaria and Romania, including Rompetrol, to ensure the necessary gasoline, diesel and kerosene”, explained the Minister of Energy from Chisinau, Dorin Junghietu.

Gunvor announced on Thursday that it is no longer buying Lukoil's foreign assets

Attempts to find new owner for refineries Commodity trader Gunvor Group said on Thursday it was withdrawing its bid to buy the international assets of Russia's largest private oil company, Lukoil, after the US said it would “never” approve the deal.

The US Treasury Department said that trader Gunvor is a “puppet of the Kremlin”.

“President Trump has been clear that the war must end immediately. As long as Putin continues his senseless killings, Kremlin puppet Gunvor will never get a license to operate and profit,” the US Treasury Department wrote on the X account.

Orban went to Trump and got a one-year waiver on the sanctions

The new sanctions also have an impact on other EU countries. Germany won a six-month waiver for the Rosneft-owned Schwedt refinery, which is under government control from 2022.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán went to Washington on Friday and obtained from Donald Trump a one-year exemption from US sanctions over the use of Russian oil and gas,

Orban, a longtime Trump ally, spoke with him at the White House on Friday for their first bilateral meeting since the Republican returned to power and explained why his country needed to use Russian oil at a time when Trump is pressing Europe to stop doing so.

Orban said the issue was vital for Hungary, which is a European country, and outlined “the consequences for the Hungarian people and the Hungarian economy of giving up oil and gas from Russia.”

“We're looking at the situation because it's very different for him to get oil and gas from other areas,” Trump said. “As you know, they don't have … the advantage of being landlocked. It's a wonderful country, it's a big country, but it's landlocked. It has no ports,” the US leader said.

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