Bulgaria Faces Potential Gasoline Prices Over €2 per Litre Amid Gulf Tensions

Former energy minister Alexander Nikolov warned that if the escalation in the Persian Gulf continues, gasoline prices in Bulgaria could permanently rise above €2 per litre. He linked the risk to oil trading at over $100 a barrel and highlighted two factors: critically low strategic petroleum reserves in the United States and the possible closure of the Bab al‑Mandab strait, a key Red Sea export route.

Nikolov said such supply constraints would lift not only gasoline but also diesel, kerosene and other fuel prices, affecting transport costs, food prices, interest rates and the state budget. He noted that Bulgaria’s Burgas refinery is a critical piece of infrastructure that generates indirect tax revenue, and criticised the previous parliament’s export ban as creating bureaucratic delays. He called for faster action by the refinery’s new management to respond to the global market situation. The combined daily output of Saudi Arabia and Russia is around 20 million barrels, while world consumption ranges from 101 to 105 million barrels per day.