Bulgaria is racing to prevent the shutdown of its only oil refinery before US sanctions on the Russian owner take effect later this month. Parliament in Sofia approved legal changes that grant additional state authority to a government-appointed manager of the Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery on the Black Sea coast. The move came after a top international commodities trader dropped plans to purchase Lukoil’s international assets, as the company rejected US Governmentallegations of being “the Kremlin’s puppet.” Lukoil said it was selling its international assets in response to US sanctions aimed at pushing Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine. The company has stakes in oil and gas projects in 11 countries, including the Burgas refinery, as well as gas stations in many countries.