The Prime Minister confirmed: There is interest from buyers for the Lukoil refinery in Burgas

"Interest in Lukoil Neftohim has been expressed for several months now from various countries. This is what Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov told journalists in the Council of Ministers, quoted by BNR.

The Prime Minister answered a journalistic question related to Finance Minister Asen Vassilev's interview with the Financial Times, in which Vassilev claimed that Lukoil Neftohim was in the process of being sold.

Earlier, the Financial Times newspaper quoted Finance Minister Asen Vassilev as saying that government pressure on Russian companies had forced Lukoil to look for an opportunity to sell the refinery.

"The question is to what extent this interest can be completed with the purchase of the refinery from another company. At the moment it is not yet clear. There is interest, but the decision whether the refinery will be sold or not depends on the current owner Lukoil Bulgaria and the relevant potential buyers," explained Denkov.

"I would not like to comment anything more until there are specifics about true intentions. When it comes to such a large asset, there are many stages before a successful final deal is reached," added the prime minister.

The refinery in Burgas has a derogation for another year to process Russian oil, and in the meantime, it has to diversify its supply of raw materials in order to continue working. The Bulgarian state also terminated the concession of the port of Rosenets, where the raw material is unloaded, and took over import control.