SOFIA — LUKoil can restart its 142,000-barrel-per-day Bulgarian refinery after a Sofia court said it had halted execution of a customs office decision to strip the plant of its fuel depot licenses.
The customs office took action against LUKoil after the firm failed to install metering to enable officials to monitor production, work that the company has said will take until the end of the year. The plant won an appeal, with the court ruling that there was sufficient evidence to prove that stripping it of the licenses could cause significant damage to the Neftochim Burgas refinery. Customs office head Vanyo Tanov told national radio that the decision would be appealed within seven days.
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