Bogdan Ivan: “For every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil, the price of a liter of diesel increases by 45 money. The state should intervene more strongly”
The Minister of Energy states that Romania is not vulnerable to imports from the Persian Gulf and that the fuel market remains stable, despite the delays caused by the attacks on the port of Novorossiysk. However, Bogdan Ivan warns that, in case of new increases in oil prices, the state will have to intervene “Harder“.
Bogdan Ivan, Minister of Energy. PHOTO FB Minister of Energy
Bogdan Ivan said on Wednesday, on Digi24, that Romania is not dependent on oil from the Persian Gulf and that, at present, there are no risks regarding the fuel supply, although the attacks on the Russian port of Novorossiysk have caused delays in deliveries.
“We do not have a dependency on the Persian Gulf. We were bringing in less than 7-8% from the Persian Gulf, but what is very important is that there is no liquidity problem today”said the minister.
The Minister of Energy explained that Romania was affected by the attacks on the KazMunaiGaz terminal, from where the Petromidia refinery is supplied.
To avoid traffic jams, shipments have been rerouted, the official explained.
“At the moment, the attacks took place on Sunday evening, we rerouted together with KazMunaiGaz, we found another source of oil that comes from the Gulf of Finland, but it will have to bypass the whole of Europe, come to the Black Sea, the Bosphorus. Another delay that leads to a deadline three weeks longer. We are talking about 100,000-ton tankers, and at the moment we are talking about one ofy”, specified Ivan.
Bogdan Ivan emphasized that the Ministry of Energy is constantly collaborating with the operators in the market to prevent possible syncopes.
Internal production, at full capacity
Asked if Romania produces more or less fuel since the beginning of the conflict in Iran, the minister replied: “In Romania, production is at its maximum with what we have opened today with Vega, with Petromidia Năvodari and with Petrobrazi Ploiesti”.
He specified that the country has substantial strategic reserves: “Production has not decreased and has no reason to decrease because, I repeat, we also have 2 million cubic meters of strategic reserve of oil and oil products”.
Regarding the structure of the refinery, Ivan explained: “At the moment, Romania refines 25% of the oil it refines in total, extracted from Romania's underground. The difference of 75% is imported.”
The situation of the Petrotel Lukoil refinery
Referring to Petrotel Lukoil, the minister reiterated that Romania will not import Russian oil: “Ural oil, which can be imported from the Russian Federation, but that is prohibited and we will never do that”.
The minister explained that Romania requested a derogation from the American authorities for the restart of the refinery, under strict conditions: “Not a single molecule of oil should come from Russia and not a single leu produced on the territory of Romania should go to Russia”.
Fuel sales and the effect of price increases
The minister also spoke about the evolution of consumption: “There were four times more wholesale and retail sales” in the early days of the conflict, but later demand declined as prices rose.
“With a 10% increase in the price of fuel, demand falls by 3%”, Ivan explained.
He warned that further increases in oil prices would require state intervention, as “for every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil there is an increase of 45 pennies per liter at the pump”.
The minister added:
“If we see a trend of international price increase, the state should intervene more strongly, reduce the excise duty in order to maintain a bearable level for the population.”
We remind you that the ordinance that provides for the reduction of excise duty on diesel fuel by 30 banis entered into force on Tuesday, April 7, with fuel prices already dropping by up to 36 banis, according to official data published by the Price Monitor.
Analyst Adrian Negrescu explained to “Adevărul” that the cheapening of diesel by reducing the excise duty is only temporary and misleading, being influenced by external factors much stronger than internal fiscal decisions.
