New draft law on oil reserves/ Karakaçi: There will be no shortage, it will be protected by the state agency

2026-03-18 14:54:00, Aktualitet CNA

New draft law on oil reserves/ Karakaçi: There will be no shortage, it

The Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Enea Karakaçi, announced that the new draft law on oil reserves will bring about the management of reserves by a state agency for up to 90 days, avoiding their storage by private companies. According to the minister, this measure will ensure that the market does not suffer shortages, even in extraordinary situations.

Karakaçi stressed that so far, inspections at points of sale have shown that there is no abuse of the price of oil, and that the companies' profit margins, 13–14 lek per liter, are acceptable. He added that the price in Albania is determined mainly by the value of imports, and the real cost per liter has been 147 lek excluding VAT.

Prime Minister Edi Rama emphasized that the oil extracted in Albania is heavy and is not used directly for general consumption, but mainly for industry, as processing requires refineries and high costs.

"Regarding the reserve obligation, which is calculated based on last year's daily turnover, we have notified all operators that they are obliged to maintain the reserve for 30 days, and the rest contracted in another way, in order to avoid a shortage of hydrocarbons."

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has not affected supplies in our country. The new draft law on oil reserves, drafted in accordance with the European Union directive, will be approved by the government within 2-3 weeks.

According to the new draft law, oil reserves will no longer be held by companies, but by a state agency that will provide a physical guarantee of hydrocarbons for up to 90 days. The price at the end point in Albania is mostly made up of the import value. And this makes the price in Albania volatile and 147 lek without VAT has been the real cost for the product. This shows that there is a gross profit of 13 to 14 lek, which is an acceptable margin. We have not seen any abuse in the price and therefore we have not seen the establishment of the board as reasonable. As history has shown in the past, it has not grown to be an oil for consumption use, but in addition to use for industry", said Karakaçi.