Evgeni Simeonov Appointed New Special Commercial Administrator of Lukoil

Evgeni Simeonov has been appointed as the new Special Commercial Administrator of Lukoil, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investment and Industry Aleksandar Pulev announced during a briefing on June 3.

Pulev said that, in his capacity as Minister of Economy, he had submitted a proposal in full compliance with the provisions of the Act on the Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Related to Petroleum and Petroleum Products for the dismissal of the current Special Commercial Administrator, Rumen Spetsov, and the appointment of Evgeni Simeonov as his successor.

According to the minister, the reasons for the change are complex but the grounds for it are unequivocal.

“The proposal was unanimously approved by the Security Council and confirmed a few minutes ago by the Council of Ministers.

Evgeni Simeonov possesses the professional experience, expertise and integrity required to ensure effective, transparent and lawful oversight of the companies within the Lukoil group.

He has worked at the Ministry of Economy for more than ten years. He began his career there in 2016 as a junior specialist and, through his expertise, dedication and professional qualities, rose to the highest level, becoming Chairman of the State Agency for Metrological and Technical Surveillance.

This is the most relevant and specialised state body responsible for implementing national policy on the supervision and control of fuels, petrol stations and petroleum storage facilities.”

Pulev argued that the outgoing administrator, Rumen Spetsov, had failed to provide adequate oversight and accountability.

“From the perspective of transparency and accountability, there has been a failure to perform duties from the first day of Mr Spetsov’s appointment until his final day in office, which was only a few hours ago.

Let us start with the very beginning. There is a legal requirement for a six-month recovery plan to be submitted for all companies falling within the powers of the Special Commercial Administrator. No such plan was submitted.

As a result, to this day we do not have the necessary accountability or professionally prepared reports containing the information required for the state to regulate effectively this complex mechanism, which has a direct impact on the purchasing power of all citizens through retail fuel prices.”

The minister also raised concerns regarding legal compliance, stating that he had access to information provided by the security services.

“At the risk of being criticised, I possess a great deal of information from the services, including confidential and classified material that I cannot share with you at this time.

We intend to demonstrate a different model of conduct and statesmanship, unlike the model associated with Borisov.

You have seen how 30 seconds of aggression during a committee meeting or session can result in potential damage of BGN 3 billion to Bulgarian taxpayers.

I will not use my own 30 seconds to do something that would be contrary to the interests of the state and consumers.

This decision is linked to national security and to our determination to ensure a transparent pricing process.”