Conflicts in the Middle East are undoubtedly affecting disruptions in the global supply of oil and oil derivatives and increasing fuel prices, said Draško Striković from the Association of Oil Companies.
It is important for our citizens and the economy, he says, that there cannot be any shortages on the market for the time being.
"Montenegro, as an accession country to the European Union, has the obligation to form strategic fuel reserves and in that regard it has partially fulfilled its obligation, so that in Montenegro we have sufficient quantities, certainly for the next two to three months. And in the regular supply in the Port of Bar, as well as in regional countries, there are sufficient quantities available for the next several months," said Striković.
However, an increase in fuel prices is certain as early as next Tuesday, during the regular adjustment, says Striković, when global movements in the price of a barrel and transport via the Persian Gulf are taken into account.
"We can expect that next time there will be a certain increase in prices here as well, although it is still too early to say what amount of change and increase we can talk about, because the effects of these events and conflicts are still ongoing, so it depends on how long these conflicts will last and how they will be reflected in overall prices. We can certainly expect a few cents increase during the next accounting period," Strković pointed out.
As for the formation of mandatory oil reserves, the Hydrocarbons Administration and oil companies are already working on fulfilling their obligations. Oil companies are required to provide 50 to 100 percent of the quantities, and the Hydrocarbons Administration the rest.
"The part that the Hydrocarbons Administration is obliged to provide is in the preparatory phase, while the part that the oil companies have provided has already been in operation since October last year. So we can say that, in addition to the operational commercial stocks that we have in the country, regular supply will certainly not be in question for the next few months," Striković pointed out.
Striković stated that countries in the region, such as Croatia and Greece, have sufficient quantities of both crude oil and finished products, so the supply of fuel to us is not in question, and long-term changes may occur if the conflict continues.
His view is that the current disruption will hit China and the countries of the Far East and Asia the most because, as he concludes, they rely on these deposits and crude oil supplies from the crisis region.
