Bulgaria and Serbia may nationalize Russian refineries due to sanctions

Russian oil refineries in Bulgaria and Serbia, which have been hit by sanctions, may change owners.

Serbia is preparing an amendment to the draft budget law that will allow it to buy out the NIS refinery, enkorr reports.

The country’s parliament will soon begin discussing amendments prepared by the ruling SNS party. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has proposed giving Moscow another 50 days to find a new owner for NIS. If a buyer is not found within this period, Serbia will introduce its own management at the enterprise and offer Russia the highest possible price for the company.

In January, the US Treasury Department imposed blocking sanctions against Gazprom Neft, which owns a controlling stake in NIS. After several postponements, the sanctions came into effect in the fall. On Tuesday, Vučić said that the refinery would be forced to stop operating in four days if the US does not lift the sanctions, as oil supplies through pipelines from neighboring countries have been halted.

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, the authorities are preparing to purchase Lukoil assets through the Bulgarian Development Bank if necessary. To this end, the ruling coalition has included amendments to the draft budget for 2026, which propose to increase the amount of state guarantees by 2 billion euros to 5.8 billion. These funds can be used “in the event of a need to purchase shares or stakes in the capital” of the oil company.

Lukoil previously stated that the company is taking steps to sell Bulgarian assets to a new owner, but reserves the right to defend its rights and legitimate interests in court. On November 14, Bulgaria adopted a law on the introduction of external management over Lukoil assets, and on November 17, these powers were officially transferred to an external manager.

Earlier, USM reported that Germany may nationalize Rosneft assets due to US sanctions.