This is the most serious crisis on the oil market so far. This was commented on “The Day Begins“ by the executive director of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association Andrey Delchev.
“Certainly – yes – This is the most serious crisis that has ever happened, the most serious difficulty in the market, the most serious price spike, and if it continues like this, the trends would be bad. Fortunately, there is also good news from time to time. The good news on the Annunciation is that prices are 3% lower today than yesterday, this is the result of the US president's statement that an agreement with Iran is being sought towards a ceasefire, that is, a truce. Although Iran denies it, Asian markets reacted and prices fell by 3%.“
Regarding fuel prices in our country, Delchev emphasized that the reaction to price increases is significantly faster than that to price decreases.
„They increase faster, a fact. They increase faster, they decrease slower. A number of economic conditions influence this. First of all, what needs to happen is to end the hostilities, otherwise such temporary phenomena will go down by 3-4%, but still around 100 dollars, I remind you that 100 dollars is almost 50% more than what it was before the start of the hostilities and, respectively, the price of the column has also jumped quite a bit in Bulgaria and all over the world. Time must pass, a truce must be concluded, hostilities must stop, the Strait of Hormuz must be opened, and regardless of that, it will take months for the market to stabilize and for prices to reach pre-war levels again.“
Delchev was categorical that there is no danger of a fuel shortage in Bulgaria, despite the price increase. At the same time, he emphasized that the market follows international trends and this inevitably leads to higher prices for the end consumer.
"There is oil, the refinery can produce, it has contracted oil for April as well, which means that they will not stop supplies. For its part, however, the refinery buys at prices that the international market allows it, i.e. prices are going up, the refinery buys at higher prices and, producing the fuels - they are also at high prices. We strongly hope that the government will negotiate an extension of the derogation in the direction of the current crisis, because the refinery largely - 70-80-% supplies the domestic market, as well as neighboring markets. If the derogation, which I think is until April 29, is not extended, the refinery would have serious problems and, in my opinion, it would stop."
Delchev also commented on the state compensation measures, noting that they are mainly aimed at households. He pointed out that the tax agency has already announced prices of 1.60 per column.
„I assume that it will remain like this for a few days, that is, that these fluctuations in crude oil prices will not immediately affect the gas station, that is, I assume that the measure will be applied to the persons who are entitled to receive it.“
He commented that the issue of supporting people who experience difficulties in purchasing fuel is part of the general problem of energy poverty. At the same time, he noted the lack of support for business.
“The issue is that so far we have not seen any measures to support business, which is a problem.“