Send to Kindle
The airports of the Bulgarian Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas have aircraft fuel to last them only for a few days in the peak of the summer season. Photo by BGNES
The Bulgarian cabinet released overnight Saturday 1 800 tons of jet fuel from the State reserve, Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov announced.
The decision, signed by the Council of Ministers during the night, will secure jet fuel for the upcoming week.
The fuel is destined to the airports of the Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas where the summer tourist season is in its peak. Burgas currently has fuel to last only until Monday, Varna – until mid-week. Additional volumes for Burgas will be also redirected from the airport in the second largest city of Plovdiv.
The order of the cabinet is for the release of jet fuel, kept in the Lukoil Bulgaria warehouses, for a week-long consumption.
"Everything has been arranged with the Finance Ministry and the Customs Agency. If needed, the fuel could be released over the weekend, but such need will not arise. The only urgent issue relates to time, not structure," Traikov said Saturday.
The Minister further pointed out it will make sense for the State representative of the Lukoil Monitoring Board to call an emergency meeting to discuss the mounting of the electronic measuring devices by the company.
On Friday Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, announced that crisis headquarters will monitor the situation on Bulgaria's fuel market after the local refinery of Russian oil giant Lukoil was forced to halt operations with Traikov heading the headquarters.
It will also include Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski, the Head of the Customs Agency, Vanyo Tanov, a deputy interior minister, a deputy finance minister and the Head of the State Reserve.
The officials will supervise the fluctuations on the fuel market following the revocation of the refinery license to sell fuels.
Bulgaria's Neftochim, the only oil refinery in the country, controlled by Russia's giant Lukoil, started on Wednesday to reduce crude processing to effectively stop production after the customs office revoked its licenses.
Tanov 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.
Valentin Zlatev, CEO 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.
Zlatev has strongly denied the allegations.
On Sunday, March 29th, 2026, at 03:00 a.m., Bulgaria will switch to summer time. Clocks will be moved forward by one hour, meaning we will lose an hour of sleep.
Rising tensions in the Middle East are already putting pressure on global energy markets, and economists warn that Bulgaria is likely to feel the impact through higher inflation in the second quarter of 2026
Engineer Stoyko Topalov, president of the International Association for Combating Drones, has warned that Bulgaria currently lacks anti-drone systems at its airports
The ongoing military conflict in the Middle East is expected to influence fuel prices in Bulgaria with a lag of approximately 7 to 14 days, potentially pushing inflation in the country up by around 0.6%, according to economist Assoc. Prof. Shteryo Nozharo
The Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) has highlighted a troubling disparity in Bulgaria’s dairy sector: consumers face some of the highest prices for dairy products in the European Union, while local producers and processors struggle to s
On Wednesday, March 11, Bulgaria can expect mostly sunny weather with daytime temperatures reaching up to 18 degrees, according to the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH). Mornings will be colder, and in parts of Eastern Bulgaria, fog a
The ongoing military conflict in the Middle East is expected to influence fuel prices in Bulgaria with a lag of approximately 7 to 14 days, potentially pushing inflation in the country up by around 0.6%, according to economist Assoc. Prof. Shteryo Nozharo
Electricity and natural gas prices in Bulgaria remain among the lowest in the European Union, according to the latest figures published by the European statistics agency Eurostat for the first half of 2025.
Bulgaria currently has sufficient reserves of motor fuels and raw materials to cover normal domestic consumption for more than three months, Deputy Finance Minister Stanimir Mihaylov told lawmakers during an extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly
Energy expert Nikolay Kacharov, speaking to Bulgarian National Radio, highlighted that Bulgaria’s energy costs have risen significantly due to contractual obligations, even before considering increased gas prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East
Energy Minister Traycho Traykov has held talks with representatives of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association to discuss developments on international energy markets and their impact on fuel prices in Bulgaria
Fuel costs in Bulgaria have jumped sharply over the past week, rising between 6 and 9 percent, according to data from the platform Fuelo.
Novinite 2025 in Review: A Year That Tested Bulgaria and the World
A Disgraceful Betrayal: Bulgaria's Shameful Entry into Trump's Board of Peace
