LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas (ЛУКОЙЛ Нефтохим Бургас), based in Burgas

Burgas

-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, is the largest oil refinery

Oil refinery

An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...

 in Southeastern Europe and the largest industrial enterprise in Bulgaria. Owned by Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n oil giant LUKOIL

LUKoil

Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....

, the refinery has the biggest contribution among the privately owned enterprises to the country's GDP and to the state budget revenues. LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas is the leading producer and supplier of liquid fuels

Liquid fuels

Liquid fuels are those combustible or energy-generating molecules that can be harnessed to create mechanical energy, usually producing kinetic energy; they also must take the shape of their container...

, petrochemical

Petrochemical

Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....

s and polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

s for Bulgaria and the region and one of the leading companies in its field in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

On 12 October 1999 LUKOIL acquired 58% of Neftochim Burgas for $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

101 million in what would later be labeled the privatisation deal of the year in Bulgaria. LUKOIL also agreed to invest a further $408 million until 2005.

LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas employs more than 8,500 people, the average salary being the highest among the industrial companies in the country. The refinery works with entirely own-produced electric power since 23 May 2000 and uses water from the nearby Lake Mandrensko

Lake Mandrensko

Lake Mandrensko or Lake Mandra is the southernmost of the Burgas Lakes, located in the immediate proximity of the Black Sea and close to Burgas...

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