The Bulgarian government is systematically stripping Lukoil of control over its Neftohim Burgas refinery through a series of legislative overrides and reporting mandates. Despite vetoes from President Rumen Radev, parliament is pushing to install external management and restrict asset sales to ensure a transition to non-Russian ownership.
The Clash Between Radev and Parliament
The struggle for the future of Bulgaria’s energy infrastructure has devolved into a high-stakes constitutional standoff. At the center is a law passed on November 7, designed to install a special manager at the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery. This manager’s primary mandate is to prepare the facility for a sale to non-Russian investors. As LIGA.net reported, President Rumen Radev vetoed this legislation, returning it to the National Assembly for further deliberation. Radev’s opposition is not merely procedural; he views the move as a dangerous precedent for the country’s legal framework. “President believes that the changes in the law lead to the undermining of the rule of law in the country, contradict basic European legal norms and represent a high risk for state finances” Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria, via LIGA.net The governing majority in parliament has already signaled its intent to override this veto, mirroring a previous victory where they successfully bypassed a presidential veto on an investment law regulating the sale of Lukoil’s assets. This pattern suggests a determined executive-legislative push to decouple the nation’s sole refinery from its Russian owner, a process that has been accelerating since late 2023.Security Vetting and the Frozen Asset Trap

New Monthly Mandates for Asset Managers
The Decoupling of Bulgarian Crude

- Russian Crude Processing: Dropped by nearly 90%, falling to 182,510 tons.
- Kazakh Crude Procurement: Increased 11.3 times, reaching 2.4 million tons.
- Alternative Sources: Increased imports from Iraq and various African nations.
