Lukoil Bulgaria has signed a deal with an international auditor to check how the company's previous special manager ran it. Special commercial manager Evgeni Simeonov told Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) that the auditor has already started work.
Simeonov's team reviewed his predecessor's decisions and found actions that made no sense, so it decided to order an international financial audit. Several earlier attempts to hire an auditor failed before the contract was signed.
Bulgaria has enough petrol and diesel, Simeonov said. Crude oil for the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery is contracted until the end of December, and that will supply finished fuel until early spring.
Simeonov said the refinery first covers Bulgaria's own needs and exports only what is left. Bulgaria has reserves and capacity, and it produces well above what it needs, he said. He called claims that diesel will last only until the end of November or December false and misleading. "As long as Lukoil Neftohim Burgas is working, we will have finished fuel!" he said. He urged people to stay calm because there is no room for speculation and panic.
The special manager believes the ban on diesel exports has not lowered prices. Storage tanks in Bulgaria hold a limited amount, he said. Once they are full, the only option is to cut diesel output, and smaller output costs more. "This is cheap populism!" Simeonov said, calling the decision wrong and short-sighted.
He said fuel is traded on commodity exchanges, so its price depends on supply and demand. The main reason for higher prices is a severe diesel shortage that has lasted a year in Europe and now affects the world, he said.
Eurostat data show fuel prices in Bulgaria rose faster than anywhere else in Europe, by 42%. Simeonov challenged the headlines on this. At the pump, Bulgaria has the third-cheapest diesel in Europe, after Malta and Poland, and the fourth-cheapest petrol, he said. That is why many Greeks and Romanians come to fill up in Bulgaria.
Simeonov added that violations are found very rarely and that fuel quality in Bulgaria is very good and meets European standards. He said no hidden Russian owner stands behind the producers the company buys crude oil from, and that the company follows all sanctions. In his view, the Burgas refinery works in a far harder environment than Western refineries.
Simeonov said he has not seen any official information on a sale of Lukoil, though talks are reported.