U.S. extends Lukoil Bulgaria waiver to April 2027

The U.S. Treasury on Oct. 15 extended until April 24, 2027, the sanctions licence that lets Lukoil’s Burgas refinery and three other Bulgarian units keep operating, six days after Washington eased sanctions on Russian diesel.

The extension lands in the one EU country whose leader publicly backed the Trump-Putin diesel deal. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev did so on Oct. 15 as he arrived at the European Union summit in Brussels, where most other leaders criticized it.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 130B , dated Oct. 15. It covers Lukoil Neftohim Burgas JSC, Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD, Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria EOOD, Lukoil Bulgaria Bunker EOOD and any entity that one or more of them owns at least 50 per cent. It replaces General License 130A of April 14 and expires at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on April 24, 2027.

The licence does not authorize other dealings with blocked people, including other blocked Lukoil affiliates, unless they are separately approved.

Euronews reported that Treasury also extended the licence for Lukoil-branded service stations outside Russia, including in the United States, to the same April 24, 2027, date. It replaces a licence that was due to expire later this month. Like the earlier version, it bars any transfer of funds to a person or account in the Russian Federation.

The renewals follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on Oct. 9 of a diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Associated Press reported that Treasury issued a temporary general licence under which sanctions will not apply to Russian diesel loaded onto tankers as of that Friday until April 2027. The AP said it was the first such licence to exceed the standard 30-day window since the Ukraine war began.

Arriving at the summit, Radev said Europe’s problem is fuel prices, according to Tert.am . “Any step in reducing fuel prices and to guarantee our competitiveness, we appreciate,” he said. He added that he does not support strikes on any refineries, a reference to Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries that Trump has asked Kyiv to halt.

Other leaders disagreed. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, “We very much regret this agreement on diesel,” and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the energy ceasefire announced alongside the deal “is not really working on the Russian side,” Tert.am reported.

At home, Radev has been defending the refinery’s supply. He told Bulgaria’s parliament on Oct. 13 that the Lukoil Neftochim plant in Burgas holds 140,000 tonnes of oil in storage, with three tankers in Bulgarian waters carrying another 420,000 tonnes, the Sofia Globe reported . He said raw material is secured through November and possibly mid-December.

Radev said Bulgaria uses about 190,000 tonnes of diesel a month while the refinery produces about 250,000 tonnes. “There is no room for panic, no room for any hysteria and pre-election manipulations,” he said. The figures are the prime minister’s own and have not been independently verified.

He was answering questions about Black Sea shipping risk after drone attacks on merchant vessels. Canada News Media has reported that drones sank a cargo ship off Bulgaria with 11 sailors missing, and that two tankers burned off Romania with seven missing.

For Canada, the link is policy. Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Oct. 11 that the diesel deal is “in direct opposition to the efforts of Ukraine, Canada, and our allies,” and that Canada will keep its sanctions on Russia and strengthen them if needed, according to his office. Canada News Media reported that statement . No Canadian government comment on the Lukoil licences has been found.

Both Lukoil licences now run to April 24, 2027, the same month the diesel waiver lapses. EU leaders were due to take up Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Oct. 16, and draft conclusions express regret over the diesel decision, as Canada News Media reported from the summit’s first day.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media , an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.

Via Euronews, Tert.am and the Sofia Globe; licence text from the U.S. Treasury (OFAC).

The post U.S. extends Lukoil Bulgaria waiver to April 2027 appeared first on Canada News Media .