Crude oil has gone down in recent days. If the trend proves to be stable enough, we may see a hold on prices. This opinion was expressed in the studio of "Zdravej, Bulgaria" on Nova TV by the Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association, Svetoslav Benchev.
"What is mainly affecting the market at the moment are the finished oil products exchanges — gasoline and diesel. What happened in the Balkans in the last month around the problems with sanctions in Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, raised the prices of finished oil products in the region to some extent. The oil market always covers political and geopolitical risks, supply problems," he explained. He added that the derogation due to the sanctions was expected.
"We worked with both the government and the Ministry of Energy regarding what we would do if something eventually happened. However, this derogation was logical to be granted. After all, we are a NATO ally," Benchev explained.
When asked whether Rumen Spetsov would cope as a special manager of "Lukoil", the chairman of the board of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association said the following: "The issue is entirely political. To a certain extent, the choice of an employee — whether he will be a customs officer or a tax officer, has a certain logic. Spetsov knows the market both wholesale and retail, he is probably also familiar with the processes in the company".
In just one month, a liter of diesel has increased in price by 12 stotinki and its average price as of today is 2.50 leva. The price of gasoline has increased by 5 stotinki per liter per month, to 2.43 leva. The smallest increase is for gas - by two stotinki per liter per month.
Ventsislav Pengezov, who owns a small gas station in Ruse, says that prices were lower before the US sanctions. "A month ago, the wholesale price was about 2 leva, now it is 20 stotinki higher. I think that in the short term there will be no upward movement. However, in the long term there will certainly be one. External and internal factors are influencing. Fuel prices will increase by at least 2-3%. Each refinery has oil reserves, the process of purchasing and delivering takes months. I think there will be no shortage of fuel. There is no noticeable tendency towards overstocking. There is a problem with the reserve - a large part of it is abroad," Pengezov pointed out.