Members of Russian oil major Lukoil management have urgently arrived in Sofia for talks over the revoked licenses of its refinery in Bulgaria to sell fuels, a former ambassador in Moscow has revealed.

Ilian Vassilev told the Bulgarian national radio he knows who heads the delegation, but refused to disclose his name since "this type of negotiations are too discrete".

Bulgaria's Neftochim, the only oil refinery in the country and controlled by Russia's giant Lukoil, started on Wednesday to reduce crude processing to effectively stop production after the customs office revoked its licenses.

Currently, the Customs Agency is conducting a full inventory of the company, which is the largest fuel importer in Bulgaria, by checking the available fuel in the storage in order to assess the amount of the excise owed by Lukoil.

Authorities have informed that upon full payment, the company would again be allowed to sell fuels, but until then it could trade only the quantities that are outside the refinery.

Vanyo Tanov, head of the customs office, has explained that the refinery cannot operate without the required electronic measuring devices Lukoil failed to install in its storage facilities, and can deal only with the fuels already outside the plant.

He said the only other possibility for the company is to appeal his decision in Court, which would be a lengthy process.

Valentin Zlatev, General Director of Lukoil Bulgaria, has often been described as "the country's back seat ruler" and "the oil oligarch, who pulls the strings of the government".

He is suspected of being the man behind Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

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