The prices of all energy sources in the world are rising, especially gas and oil. Gas has never been more expensive in Europe.
Since the beginning of September alone, it has risen by almost 50 percent. After two months of stagnation, crude oil prices have been rising steadily since the middle of last week – they have reached the red line, a barrel costs 80 dollars.
Every shift in the world market affects the prices at our pumps. The increase in the price of derivatives is certain, it is only a question of when the oil companies will apply it. But what is worrying is that world analysts are announcing that a barrel could soon cost 90 dollars.
Nebojsa Culum from the Serbian Oil and Gas Association and an expert associate of the National Oil Committee of Serbia told that the oil market is unstable in the long run, which is illustrated from the beginning of the seventies until today.
– These fluctuations are sometimes reflected as damage for producer countries, and sometimes for consumer countries, said Culum.
According to him, the average price of oil from the beginning of 2021 until today was around 67 dollars, the previous year it was 45 dollars.
Gas prices are stable
Culum says there are three main reasons why the price has now reached 80 dollars – a drop in US crude oil reserves, a low state of natural gas in Europe’s underground storage facilities, which are being replaced by petroleum products. The third important parameter is the strengthening of the US dollar, as a currency that trades in crude oil and natural gas.
– I cannot answer with certainty when the prices at the pumps will change. What I can say is that 26 percent of the production of domestic oil is from domestic production and that the rest is imported and in addition a million tons of derivatives are imported, which means that about 80 percent of the derivatives are imported and this will certainly affect the price change, he explained.
As he says, the moment when that will happen depends on the current state of stocks of both oil and derivatives that were procured at lower prices.
Europe is shaken by price gas fever
Culum says that the prices are record-breaking, and the reason for that is the low state of natural gas in the underground storages of Europe. He adds that gas prices in our country are stable, and the current high prices could be reflected from next year, BiF reports.
