Bulgaria is replacing imports of Russian crude oil with deliveries from Kazakhstan, Iraq and Tunisia in January, Reuters reported, quoting traders and LSEG data.

The country was granted a derogation until end-2024 from an EU-wide ban on imports of Russian crude oil, but the parliament decided to cut that period until start of March. Meanwhile, as of January, exports of fuels produced using Russian oil are banned.

The country’s sole refinery, Lukoil Neftochim Burgas, has been using Russian crude to produce fuels and needs to invest a substantial sum to adjust its equipment to non-Russian oil. The refinery has a capacity of 190,000 barrels per day (bpd).

According to Reuters, in January Lukoil Neftochim Burgas has not imported any oil from Russia. Instead, the refinery should receive two 70,000 metric tonne cargoes of Kazakhstan's KEBCO crude, one 76,000 tonne cargo of Basrah Light, one 50,000 tonne cargo of CPC Blend, and 33,000 tonnes of oil from Tunisia.

Traders expect that Lukoil Neftochim Burgas will most likely replace the Russian oil mainly with KEBCO, a Kazakh grade exported from Russian ports with the same quality as Russian Urals. However, its supply is limited and its price is significantly higher than for Urals, which could raise the fuel prices.

At the beginning of December, Lukoil said it would reassess its presence in Bulgaria and could sell its business in the country due to a “significant change in conditions” for operating on its territory.

That decision came after in November the Bulgarian parliament decided to ban the import of Russian oil as of March 1 next year. Previously, the country was granted an exemption to an EU-wide ban on imports of Russian oil until the end of 2024 to give time to the Neftochim refinery to adjust its equipment to other types of oil.

Azerbaijan already indicated it would be interested in acquiring the refinery.