Bulgaria Has Fuel Until End-March, Spetsov Tells Parliament amid Hormuz Blockade

Rumen Spetsov, the special commercial administrator for the LUKOIL Group entities in Bulgaria, told Parliament on Tuesday that all of Lukoil Neftochim Burgas's oil processing and refining needs have been secured until the end of March, and a delivery schedule for April has been drawn up. Spetsov was in Parliament for a hearing on the State's readiness to provide the necessary quantities of fuel for the needs of the public and industry in connection with the crisis caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the measures envisaged by the government to deal with the price shock caused by this crisis.Spetsov reported that while there is a delay, there is no information at present from traders about a refusal to fulfil deliveries for April.Spetsov said: "Lukoil Neftochim Burgas operates on market principles. Following the appointment of the special administrator, the umbrella of the so-called Litasco holding structure no longer exists, which means that there are now four independent commercial companies in Bulgaria, each of which is self-supporting, has its own budget, and strives to buy, sell, and guarantee its profits based on market principles, and the same applies to Lukoil Neftochim Burgas." He stated that the status quo is complicated by these force majeure circumstances.More than 800 vessels are blocked in the Strait of Hormuz, 300 of which are oil tankers, 300 are tankers carrying finished products, and the rest are gas tankers, so there will be very serious difficulties on a global scale, said Spetsov. He stated that even if oil is found at a good price, there is a risk that there will be no one to transport it, which is a threat comparable to the price of fuel itself.Spetsov told Parliament: "Lukoil Neftochim Burgas is a refinery created and designed to work with Russian Urals oil. Following the imposition of sanctions [against Russia], the inability to source this oil severely limits the choice of different types of oil to compose a blend that would allow the Neftochim system to operate properly and produce high-quality fuel. At present, we have to mix approximately six types of oil in order to get close to the system's requirements and produce high-quality fuels. This means diversifying the different sources, but the combination of these oils is done in a strictly defined order."He added that the refinery is paying a high price for this, because the system is wearing out faster than planned, and the time between two scheduled repairs is drastically reduced.Spetsov concluded: "Despite everything, the supplies we have planned for March will arrive, high-quality fuel will be produced, and for April we will have to see how the military operations develop and whether the contracts will be fulfilled."

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