Thu, Nov 05 2009
Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov

Lukoil Bulgaria has decreased the price of fuel in relation to the current dynamic of the local market for petrol goods, as declared in an official statement from the company, quoted by Investor. The move comes against the backdrop of Russia's Gazprom restricting the flow of gas to Europe due to the ongoing row with Ukraine, with shortages in some cases being as much as a third, and with gas supplies dwindling for the Bulgarian market as well.
Russian oil heavyweight Lukoil may trim planned investments for 2009 and postpone by a year or two the construction of a waste treatment plant at its Bourgas refinery on the Black Sea if oil prices dropped to $45 a barrel, the company's president Vagit Alekperov said, as quoted by Interfax news agency. Lukoil Neftochim, the refining arm of the Russian company's subsidiary in Bulgaria, declined to comment on the statement.
Russian oil processing company LUKoil and Bulgaria's fuel retailer Petrol shook hands on April 24 over a deal that reconciled a long-running dispute between the two and looks set to trigger a reshuffle in the fuel retailer market. Under the agreement, cleared on April 24 by Bulgaria's anti-trust authority CPC, the two companies agreed to the withdrawal of all lawsuits against each other and to the sale of 75 gas stations and a fuel depot in Sofia's Iliantsi neighbourhood of Petrol to LUKoil.
There should be no modifications or speculations when it comes to the currency board, Bulgarian National Bank governor Ivan Iskrov said.
The Bulgarian deposit market exhausted its capacity to provide liquidity for local lenders as recession strengthened its grip on the economy, the latest figures from the Bulgarian National Bank showed.
Loans written off as losses by Bulgarian banks rose to 1.843 billion leva in the first nine months of this year, central bank figures showed.
Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry will meet on November 3 with the creditors of state railway carrier BDZ to ask for a grace period until the end of 2010.
Bulyard Shipbuilding Industry EAD is a subsidiary of Bulyard AD, in which Industrial Holding Bulgaria PLC currently holds 61.5 per cent of the voting shares