site.btaEnergy Ministry Has No Information about Sale of Lukoil Neftohim Burgas - Minister Malinov

Caretaker Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov Wednesday said that neither him nor the Energy Ministry have information about the sale of the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas oil refinery. He was speaking at a news briefing in relation to a story by Financial Times reading that according to the daily's sources, Russian state energy group Lukoil is planning to sell its refinery in Bulgaria - its largest asset in the Balkans - to a Qatari-British consortium by the end of the year.

Malinov said that he has not been provided with such information either by the majority shareholder in Neftohim Burgas or the refinery's operational leadership, or the State's representative on the company's Supervisory Council. "Personally, that worries me: the lack of any information whatsoever provided on the official channel," he commented.

The Energy Minister said that he would make official inquiries on this potential deal to the shareholders and the operational leadership of Neftohim Burgas. "If we receive such information, we will analyze it and make a report. That is why I cannot comment on the new owner announced by the media, because I am not familiar with either the structure or the composition of this ownership," Malinov said.  The rights that the Bulgarian State has in accordance with  the Class A share or the "golden share" as it is popularly called, are too limited, and even if the ownership changes, in the future he will insist that the Energy Ministry have a greater possibility to receive information in case the ownership changes as well as an expression of a firm opinion on this type of processes.

Once it receives information on the matter, the Energy Ministry will make a thorough analysis of the fuel market in Bulgaria and what impact a potential sale would have on the State's fiscal policy. "Only then will we write a report to be tabled in the 51st National Assembly, where a decision can be taken," Malinov added.

The Government fully respects private property. The oil refinery in Burgas (on the Black Sea) is privately owned, but it should be noted that Neftohim Burgas is part of Bulgaria's national security, Malinov underscored.

Earlier in the day, BTA approached Lukoil, but the company refused to comment on the matter.

According to Financial Times' story, Lukoil said it is selling its majority stake in Lukoil Neftohim Burgas, a major refinery on the Black Sea coast, in a letter to the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin seen by the daily. "Putin must endorse the deal. Lukoil has chosen a consortium made up of Oryx Global, controlled by Qatari businessman Ghanim Bin Saad Al Saad, and London-based commodity trading house DL Hudson as its preferred buyer and said it wanted to close the deal before the end of the year. Oryx declined to comment. DL Hudson did not respond to requests for comment," the story reads. "The final round of bidders for the company also includes Socar, the state energy company of Azerbaijan, KazMunayGas, state energy group of Kazakhstan, and Turkish oil group Opet, according to the letter sent to Putin’s office. Socar, KazMunayGas and Opet did not respond to requests for comment. Overall, at least half a dozen groups have expressed interest in buying the company, according to two people familiar with the matter," Financial Times writes.