Russian Gazprom Neft is planning to sell its fuel retail business in Bulgaria, seeking a valuation between €60 million and €80 million. The company is looking to divest 23 locations, a warehouse, and 12 land plots under its name. This is the first time the company has hired an investment consultant to advise on the sale of assets.
The company also operates NIS Petrol stations in Bulgaria, part of the Serbia-based NIS Group. Bulgaria is currently the only EU member that imports Russian seaborne crude, under an exemption granted by the EU Commission in 2022 from sanctions imposed on Russian companies in response to the Ukraine war. The NIS chain also operates in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Russia.
Bulgaria’s parliament has mandated the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery to transition to non-Russian crude by October 1, 2024, three months before the exemption expires, as over 75% of the country’s fuel comes from this refinery.
