I have said many times that for me the state would have a very hard time managing such a large refinery like "Lukoil". He said this on the air of “Your Day” on NOVA NEWS the chairman of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association Svetoslav Benchev.
In his words, this is the plant that determines the industry and economy of the country.
“I think that a similar solution, like the one written in the budget, will be more of a backup option if the negotiations between the owner and potential buyers do not go well, if something does not change in a purely geopolitical situation”, believes Benchev.
He shared that he hopes that the state will not go to seize the refinery and nationalize it. “There are different options - it could ask to buy it from the owner, it could nationalize it. But this would have additional consequences, both for the sector and for the state as a whole”, explained the expert.
“Our sector operates in a free market economy. We are not controlled in terms of prices by the Energy Regulatory Commission, as is the case with natural gas and electricity. The market determines the price, the market determines how it will happen. I don't know how it would affect it and how the price would be determined if the state was the owner," Benchev explained.
According to him, the state always wants the price to be lower. "But how will this be guaranteed? Will it be at the expense of the enterprise? Many questions arise," he believes.
“If some understanding is really not found for new buyers and something does not happen on a geopolitical level between the US and Russia, we could really end up in the situation we see in Serbia," the expert commented.
“There should be some guarantee that if the state takes over the refinery, we will not pay any very heavy, arbitration sanctions afterwards. These are the concerns. "I believe that the refinery should work, and the state will take all measures to make this happen. We will too," he explained.