Oil continues to increase in price on world markets
By the end of September, the price of gasoline and diesel will exceed BGN 3, predicts the chairman of the Association of Bulgarian Fuel Manufacturers, Traders, Importers and Transporters Dimitar Hadjidimitrov.
He made this prediction to BNT based on the increase in the price of oil on world exchanges in the last two months. The association unites small fuel traders and importers in our country.
The big oil producers decided that prices of 72 dollars per barrel did not suit them, and therefore they cut production in half. At the same time, in September, the US announced that its oil reserves had a huge drop compared to August, and this led to a 25% increase in the price of oil, commented Hadjidimitrov.
On Friday, Brent rose $0.59 to $94.29 a barrel, making forecasts of $100 a barrel increasingly realistic. In about 20 days, these high prices will already be reflected at our gas stations.
According to data from the Fuelo platform, the average price of the most popular A95 gasoline is BGN 2.85 at the moment. Diesel is sold at gas stations for BGN 2.87.
The Association of Fuel Producers, Importers, Traders and Transporters is concerned about the short period in which the MPs voted in the first reading to end the derogation for the import of Russian oil. The imposition of the oil embargo is expected to take place within one month after the adoption of the legal change. Calculations show that if the law is voted by the end of September, from November the Burgas refinery will switch to non-Russian oil only.
“This transition should be smoother. If a contract is concluded now for non-Russian oil, it will take at least 2-3 months for it to arrive at the refinery and be processed. We fear that if a 30-day deadline is voted, it may to obtain a period in which there are no deliveries,” said Hadjidimitrov.
Fuel traders expect that after the removal of the derogation for Russian oil, fuel prices in the country will increase by about 5.6 cents per liter, in order to match the average prices of the Mediterranean market.
There is no technical problem for the Lukoil refinery in Burgas to work with non-Russian oil, so far they have worked with over 20 types of oil. The change of the raw material will not lead to significant additional production costs, Hadjidimitrov pointed out.
