Swiss commodity trader Gunvor said it has withdrawn its proposal to buy Lukoil’s foreign assets, including the refinery in Burgas, after the U.S. Treasury called it Russia’s ‘puppet’, Reuters reported.

• Prime Minister: Bulgaria has a month to decide how to proceed after US sanctions on Lukoil

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On November 7, Bulgaria’s ruling coalition tabled in Parliament a bill amending the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Associated with Oil and Petroleum Products, introducing the position of a special commercial administrator in Lukoil Bulgaria.

“The sanctions imposed on Lukoil’s assets would effectively lead, after November 21, to the suspension of operations at the Lukoil Neftochim refinery in Burgas due to the refusal of all contractors to make payments to companies owned by Lukoil in Bulgaria”, the sponsors of the bill said. According to them, the so-called German model, which has already been granted an exemption from the sanctions regime, had been effectively incorporated into the current legislative proposal. The special commercial administrator will be able to manage or dispose of company assets that goes beyond normal business operations, but only with government approval. Funds from such transactions will be deposited in a special account at the Bulgarian Development Bank.

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanaaov

Photo: Reuters