After the latest round of American sanctions targeting Russia’s oil sector, Bulgaria faced an urgent problem: Lukoil — the owner of the country’s largest refinery — fell under the restrictions.
In response, the government decided to seize the Neftochim refinery and other Lukoil assets, stripping shareholders of their rights and appointing a manager to negotiate a possible sale. Parliament passed the decision in just 26 seconds, overturning 26 years of ownership ahead of the deadlines set by the U.S.
Bloomberg noted that this became the most serious blow to Russia’s economic influence in the Balkans in a decade. Sanctions introduced under President Donald Trump have undermined the Kremlin’s standing in a region where East and West have competed for influence for centuries.
In Serbia, authorities are considering a state buyout of Naftna Industrija Srbije AD, the oil and gas company owned by Russia’s Gazprom. President Aleksandar Vučić aims to avoid outright nationalization, but must convince Washington he intends to “free” the country from Gazprom to avoid U.S. sanctions that could harm Serbia.
For years, Bulgaria had expressed concern about Russia’s deep economic footprint, particularly in energy. Lukoil complained of political pressure to force it to sell its refinery and gas station network, but no serious action had been taken until now.
“Russia’s influence is built on dominance in the energy sector thanks to oil and gas — leftovers from the Soviet era that had remained untouched for decades," said Ruslan Stefanov, chief economist at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia.
"Much of that is now gone. These are the last gasps, which is why it’s causing so much anxiety.”
He added that U.S. pressure forced regional governments to act, since the EU alone lacked sufficient leverage.
Analysts believe that even after the war ends and sanctions are potentially lifted, Russia is unlikely to restore its influence in the region’s energy sector, which is already shifting toward new, more reliable suppliers and partners.
On Oct. 22, the U.S. imposed new sanctions — for the first time during Trump’s second administration — on Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the measures, citing Russia’s lack of “serious commitment to a peaceful process to end the war in Ukraine.”
On Oct. 30, Andrii Yusov, representative of Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence, said oil refining in Russia had declined by 18–20%.
On Nov. 6, The Moscow Times reported that Russia’s federal oil and gas revenues fell by 21.4% over the first ten months of the year — a drop of 2 trillion rubles, from 9.54 trillion to 7.5 trillion rubles ($92.4 billion).