UK extends permission to conduct business with Lukoil's Bulgarian subsidiaries until Feb 26, 2027

MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax) - The UK Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has extended a license due to expire on October 29, 2026, for transactions with Lukoil's Bulgarian entities under the imposed sanctions restrictions until February 26, 2027.

According to the agency, this concerns interaction with the companies Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD, Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD, Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria EOOD and Lukoil Bunker Bulgaria EOOD.

The UK added Lukoil to its sanctions list on October 15, ordering all business transactions with the company to be wound up by November 29. Then, on November 14, OFSI issued a license to continue those transactions until February 14, 2026, later extending this deadline to August 13 and then to October 29.

The United States Department of the Treasury included Lukoil in its sanctions list on October 22, 2025, issuing a license to wind up operations, the validity of which it also repeatedly extended. The oil company soon announced its intention to sell its foreign assets. Negotiations with potential buyers are currently underway.

Lukoil began operating in Bulgaria in October 1999, purchasing a controlling stake in the Burgas oil refinery with a capacity of 8.8 million tonnes. It also manages a network of over 500 filling stations in the country. Due to the EU's ban on imports of Russian oil, Lukoil has had difficulty running its operations in Bulgaria in the last three years. It said that the group had begun reviewing the strategy for its assets in Bulgaria, including the sale of the business.

As reported, on November 14, 2025, the Bulgarian National Assembly passed a law introducing external management at Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD, Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD and other enterprises of Lukoil Group in the country. In this connection, management of the affected companies was transferred to a special commercial manager from November 17, 2025. In order to protect its rights and legitimate interests, on February 19, 2026, Geneva-based Litasco SA, which is part of Lukoil Group and is the direct shareholder of Lukoil Neftohim Burgas AD and Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD, sent Bulgaria a notification that it considers the introduction of external management of the company's assets to be expropriation without compensation and may go to court.