Prices at gas stations have not yet reached the sky. For now, they are flying up by a dozen cents.
It's hard for me to say how high the price of a barrel of oil can go. Look, the price is extremely volatile (variable - ed.) - yesterday it was $120, today it is $80. And why? Some say that, you see, some countries would release their strategic reserves. Yes, but these countries refused to release them. And no one asks why they refused. Yes, the G7 and above all the US. And they are refusing, obviously, because they are calculating that they themselves might need these reserves. Prices are currently falling for one reason, for me, and that is Putin's conversation with Trump. There is no other reason from last night that could have happened.
This was commented on in the FACTI studio by former Minister of Energy Rumen Ovcharov to Lili Marinkova. Here is more from his analysis:
But the problem is not only in oil. I will give you a few numbers so that you have an idea of what kind of disruption we are talking about. This is the biggest disruption in history since oil markets have been monitored.
20 million barrels have been stopped in the Strait of Hormuz. Just to remind you - the other largest such fluctuation (variation, oscillation - ed.) was during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Then it was about 5 million barrels. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973 - then it was less than five million barrels. Now it is 20 million. Add to that another 20% of natural gas supplies, add to that 50% of urea on a global scale (we are talking about fertilizers - ed.). And you will understand that we are talking about a disturbance that has an extremely serious, global character. And all these, I will call them shallow, cheerful performances by our ministers about how we here, you see, in "Chiren" have reserves. What reserves do we have in "Chiren"? In "Chiren" we have 250 million cubic meters. We can draw from there two million. Okay, we'll get it done this spring. What the price will be is another topic. Because Traycho Traykov convinces us: "We have an agreement with Azerbaijan, and it will keep our price low." It kept the price low in 2022 and 2023. Because then oil prices didn't move, then natural gas prices went up fivefold. And the price of natural gas from Azerbaijan is linked to oil prices. The prices of this gas will also go up. That's why I somehow don't understand all these chest-pounding. And to Mrs. President, I want to say publicly: I understand her reasons for "the National Council of State will become a place for election propaganda." Yes, that's what will happen. But there are things that the state needs to think about right now. And take measures for them. Because I don't see measures being taken. Look at what's happening at the Kozloduy NPP. A reactor shuts down three times, within 2 months. Three times. Such a thing has never happened in the history of our nuclear energy. This particular reactor - Unit 6, was one of the record holders for the fewest emergency shutdowns. It hasn't had a single one for more than 11 years. We are now shutting it down like a winch. Three times. Before that, we were shutting it down twice a year. Okay, won't someone take measures on these issues?!
The solution is very simple - it's not about some super technology. It's about a membrane, a sheet metal and a pin that breaks at a certain pressure. And some knives that break the sheet metal. However, some people still decided to make a small profit. I understand that they delivered the membrane, originally from Russia, but this is smuggling. I don't know these people.. Russia is under sanctions. Without a derogation, these crooks are punishable. I don't know if they understand this.
The second question is "Neftokhim". Look at what is happening there. For the 11 months of last year, "Neftokhim" lost $52 million. For the three months since Rumen Spetsov joined, "Neftokhim" lost $58 million. You understand how "competently and qualitatively" this man manages! And in the conditions when the Swiss company "Litasco", a shareholder in "Lukoil", is taking up arbitration for 3 billion. There is a similar case in Germany. "Rosneft" - its assets there are also managed by a special manager. But this special manager since 2022, with every action that concerns the economic results of the companies, asks the representative of the main shareholder - i.e. the owner. "Are we doing this, are we proposing this, are we proposing that". What does our special manager do? The first thing he does when he goes there is reduce the board of directors from 5 people to 4. And who does he fire? The shareholder representative. Now who does he fire - reduce them from 4 to 3. He fires the main expert in the management. The long-time technical director of "Lukoil". And then we wonder why the refinery is operating at a loss.
You can follow more of the conversation in the video