Bulgarian fuel supplies secure after Lukoil sanctions, PM says

SOFIA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has secured enough fuel supplies to meet demand even though Russia's Lukoil LKOH.MM, which runs the country's biggest refinery, has been hit by U.S. sanctions, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft ROSN.MM, over Moscow's war in Ukraine, sending global oil prices higher and prompting India to consider cutting Russian imports.

In Bulgaria, Lukoil runs the 190,000 barrel-per-day Burgas refinery, operates more than 200 petrol stations, and has a fuel transport and depot network.

"The refinery must keep running," Zhelyazkov told journalists in Brussels ahead of a European Council meeting.

"We have one month to make a national decision on how to approach the refinery as a country, together with the refinery itself and its management," he said.

"Fuel supplies are secured. I am not talking about the near future, but in general," he said.

Bulgaria's central bank said in a statement on Thursday it was in contact with the finance ministry and other authorities to discuss next steps.

Lukoil was already under pressure to sell the refinery due to existing sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict.

"This is no joke. We could run out of fuel at some point," said former prime minister Boyko Borissov, who heads the ruling GERB party.

"(It is) a complex issue, very delicate and we are ready to have all options for possible action if necessary," he said in Sofia.

Latchezar Bogdanov, chief economist at the Institute for Market Economics in Sofia, said that Lukoil has three options for its operations in Bulgaria: sell its assets, put them under some kind of government management, or shut operations down.

"Banks will probably stop working with Lukoil and its subsidiaries. If you cannot use the financial system, how will you continue?" he told Reuters.