The Lukoil oil refinery in Bulgaria promised Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov to pay nearly twice as many taxes to the state after the Bulgarian Parliament threatened to ban the import of Russian crude oil by sea, reports Euractiv.

Delian Peevski, the leader of the DPS parliamentary group, made this statement after a government meeting with deputies that was entirely dedicated to the presence of the Russian oil company in Bulgaria and the right to process Russian crude oil.

Bulgaria benefits from an exception to the EU oil embargo against Russia until the end of 2024, which benefits the Bulgarian Lukoil oil refinery.

"Thanks to the threat of canceling the exception, Lukoil promised to pay its taxes in the amount of over 500 million levs (250 million euros)," said Peevski after an extraordinary parliamentary session.

Up until now, the government expected Lukoil to contribute 135 million euros in taxes to the state budget, but Peevski announced that the company promised to pay 250 million euros if the parliament maintains the exception regarding the oil embargo.

However, the two most influential parliamentary parties, GERB and DPS, are insisting on a much higher amount. They want Lukoil to pay a total of 750 million euros through accumulated monthly contributions that the company should pay to the Bulgarian Energy Security Fund.