The Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company has been licensed as a port operator and with that the State can start operating the Rosenets oil terminal port, Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov said here Thursday. He was at Rosenets for the hand-over of the port after Parliament terminated the concession of Lukoil Neftohim Burgas.
The Rosenets port is designed to receive, store and transport crude oil, petroleum and chemical raw materials and commodities. They are brought by tankers which moor at three piers, and are then temporarily stored in tanks. The carriage of refinery inputs and finished products is done via trunk pipelines to and from the main site of Lukoil Neftohim Burgas.
The Minister explained that within days the State and Lukoil are expected to reach an agreement on using the tax warehouse which is part of the port, and which is required of Port Infrastructure as it applies for an operational worthiness certificate. Port Infrastructure expects to get the certificate within days.
The warehouse itself was not included in the concession and is owned by Lukoil. Gvozdeikov said that it is yet to be decided how control will be exercised, and talks on that are underway between Lukoil and the National Customs Agency.
The handover is proceeding smoothly and an analysis is about to be prepared jointly with the security services, the Customs Agency and the border police how work at the oil terminal will be organized, Gvozdeikov said.
He reiterated that the State does not owe compensations to Lukoil for the termination of the concession contract because it was done in keeping with the Bulgarian law and the EU regulations. He added that the company has a right to contest the move by the established procedure.
He was adamant that the changeover of the Rosenets operation won’t affect fuel prices. "Fuel prices are determined by the market prices of the products. The oil market is open and prices won't be affected by what is happening at Rosenets," he said.
Work at the Rosenets terminal looked undisturbed by the handover.
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