We took a very important and decisive step in support of the national interest, of national security, since "Lukoil" is an asset of a structural nature for the Bulgarian economy and fuel market. This was a great victory for Bulgarian consumers, because we managed to secure another bomb that was planted by the previous administration. "Lukoil Bulgaria" was on the verge of being closed, as an activity, since they did not have access to oil, which is needed based on the technical parameters, for the refinery to work effectively, for the technical capacities not to be clogged. There was a risk that the refinery would be closed, which would lead to a shock. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Pulev in the program “Face to Face” on BTV.
According to him, this was allowed by the previous government and during the administration of the previous special administrator.
“The meeting with "Litasko" was an important and decisive step that will lead us to the elimination of the arbitration dispute. During Borisov's administration, an unprecedented statement in the Energy Commission led to potential damage for Bulgarian citizens in the amount of 3 billion euros. There was an epic meeting, 30 seconds”, he explained. And he added: “This was a rather clumsy attempt to nationalize private property.
“From there, a cascade of events began. There is a dispute in the amount of 3 billion euros. "It is quite natural that "Litasko" wants to protect its private asset and they started blocking accounts of "Lukoil Bulgaria", they started blocking access to various counterparties, so the refinery was restricted and this would have led to its closure. They did not have access to raw material supplies from traders registered in Switzerland", revealed Alexander Pulev.