New Measure by the Government of Serbia: Ban on the export of oil and petroleum products extended until april 2

"The ban applies to the export of diesel, gasoline, and crude oil by all modes of transport. We have extended it as one of the measures to protect citizens and the economy from rising oil prices on the global market, which are still ongoing. Additionally, we have decided to release 40,000 tons of diesel from state reserves as a further measure to stabilize the market, which will be implemented in the coming days", said Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic.

According to a statement from the Ministry, Djedovic Handanovic noted that the goal of the adopted measures, such as a 20 percent reduction in fuel excise taxes, is to protect the domestic market from shortages of petroleum products and price increases caused by global disruptions.

Foto: Tanjug/AP/Michael Probst

These disruptions stem from the conflict in the Middle East and a roughly 40 percent rise in oil prices in recent weeks.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, stated in Indjija that the issue is not only the global oil price, currently between 112.2 and 116 dollars per barrel, but also the pricing benchmarks.

"For the first time in our history, diesel price benchmarks have exceeded 1,300. We have never seen this before, and tomorrow we must set a price that is effectively impossible. The realistic price will reach around 250 dinars for diesel, possibly even higher. We are talking about the real price, while in our country it is currently 208 dinars", Vucic said.

Oil Procurement Also a Problem

According to him, another issue is the difficulty of purchasing oil itself.

"Serbia’s solution will be sought through a combination of reserves and excise tax refunds. We have around 270,000 tons in state reserves alone, not counting NIS operational reserves or the reserves of the Serbian Armed Forces, but we are already releasing 40,000 tons from reserves today", Vucic emphasized.

He added that such reserves have been accumulated over the past three years, precisely for situations like this, increasing by 72 percent during that period.

It is worth noting that Vucic convened an emergency meeting with relevant ministries and institutions to assess the situation on the fuel market and the state of reserves in the country.

Oil prices rose to 112 dollars per barrel (from 65 dollars), after Iranian media reported an airstrike that hit a facility at the world’s largest natural gas field.

The benchmark price of Brent crude oil reached 112 dollars per barrel early this morning in Asia, more than 5 percent higher than on Tuesday.

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