The sanctions imposed by the United States on January 10 on the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), which is majority-owned by Russian oil companies, will not impact the fuel supply in Montenegro, according to Draško Striković from the Association of Oil Companies. “As you can see, the markets are already preparing for the global implementation of sanctions on Russian oil exports. This will likely lead to an increase in prices worldwide, which will, of course, affect the Montenegrin market as well,” Striković said.
He explained that, as of January 7, current trends on the world market suggest a slight increase in fuel prices, but the price hike could be more significant if the Montenegrin government enacts a decree to implement the Law on Security of Supply, which aims to ensure supply and may cause additional price increases. “Given that price growth is expected due to US sanctions, it’s possible that the Montenegrin government will delay the application of compensation under the Law on Security of Supply, which would help mitigate a larger price increase in the near future. If the government decides to raise the security of supply fee for oil derivatives in this period, that would add an additional three cents to the expected 2-3 cent increase,” Striković noted.
While Montenegro will feel the impact of US sanctions on oil companies mainly through higher fuel prices, neighboring Serbia is facing a different challenge. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that, starting today, the country is relying on gas reserves after losing access to gas supplies from Azerbaijan. This change followed a meeting with the US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Richard Verma, who clarified that the sanctions on NIS were aimed at Russia, not Serbia. Vučić responded by acknowledging that while the sanctions were not directed at Serbia, they still represented bad news for the country.
