Two decades since the beginning of the dispute with Jugopetrol and seven years since the final judgment by which the reservoirs in Bijelo Polje, Lipci and Bar went to Montenegro, the state could soon finally take over management of them, which could bring numerous benefits.
This was confirmed by the Minister of Finance, Aleksandar Damjanović, at the working breakfast held two days ago with journalists, pointing out that they are only waiting for a formal offer from Jugopetrol on how the fuel tanks would be handed over to the state.
– The silos are finally ours, after almost 20 years of that saga, that is, seven or eight years since the court verdict, and now we are waiting for a formal offer from Jugopetrol.
He announced that the process of taking over these tanks will be completely open to the public, and that the state and society will feel the benefits after taking over.
– The process will be transparent and I think we will soon be able to say that Montenegro is taking over the management of the reservoirs in Lipci and Bijelo Polje. After we take them over, we will start thinking about their valorization, that is, to finally pass the law on strategic oil reserves, which is our obligation – Damjanović said.
Oil reserves response to market shocks
The system of strategic oil reserves was developed in the 1970s as a response to oil shocks. At the time, the Arab member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut production in protest of US support for Israel in the 1973 October War.
Oil prices remained above 85 dollars on Friday as Saudi Arabia and Russia announced that they will cut supply in September as well. On the London market, the price of a barrel was 34 cents higher and amounted to 85.48 dollars, while in New York the barrel was traded at a price 31 cents higher than 81.86 dollars. OPEC announced separately that on Thursday the barrel of its members fell to $85.47.
