"The sanctions of the United States of America on the Russian oil companies "Lukoil" and "Rosneft" will not have an impact on the fuel supply in Montenegro, because there are no Russian energy products on the Montenegrin market. Most of the fuel comes from Greece and Croatia. Even the subsidiary of the company "Lukoil" in Montenegro does not sell Russian but Greek oil products," said an interlocutor of "Vijesti" from the energy sector.
President of the USA Donald tramp imposed sanctions on Russia yesterday on oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft, citing Russia's lack of commitment to ending the war in Ukraine. The US Treasury Department said the two largest Russian oil companies are the targets of new measures aimed at weakening Moscow's ability to finance its war machine.
"Vijesti" asked the Lukoil subsidiary in Montenegro whether and how the sanctions would affect the work of their company, and they responded that they were operating normally.
"All business communication, procurement, transport and payments are currently being carried out in the usual manner, without any restrictions. Legal opinions are being obtained from renowned law firms on the content, scope and consequences of the sanctions. "Lukoil Montenegro" remains committed to strict compliance with the law and all relevant national and international regulations that apply to our activities and openness in relations with its business partners. Our Company, with the joint efforts of management and employees, will continue to operate in the same way, and thus overcome all possible difficulties," the company said in a response.
According to data from the website of the company "Lukoil Montenegro", they have ten gas stations in Montenegro, employ 130 workers and make up 15 percent of the Montenegrin retail market for petroleum products. Last year, Montenegrin "Lukoil" had a revenue of 47,7 million euros, of which the net profit was 1,9 million euros.
According to data from the register of business entities, the 100% owner of "Lukoil Montenegro" is the company "Lukoil International GMBH" from Vienna, which is the main headquarters of the Russian "Lukoil" for Europe.
The "Vijesti" interlocutor states that the Montenegrin subsidiary of "Lukoil" has been purchasing fuel from the wholesaler "Jugopetrol" for a long time, which receives it from its majority owner, the Greek oil company "Eko Hellenic Petrol".
Of the remaining oil companies on the Montenegrin market, some also buy from "Jugopetrol", which is the only one that has the ability to import oil derivatives by sea, and several companies import fuel for their pumps, most often from Croatia.
"Montenegro has long had no fuel that comes directly or indirectly from Russia. It was not there even before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, so the introduction of sanctions alone cannot have a direct impact in Montenegro," said a source in "Vijesti".
He states that there may be problems in Serbia because the Oil Industry of Serbia is also targeted by sanctions due to its Russian ownership, but that he does not expect significant supply disruptions in that market either.
"Serbia has purchased significant quantities of fuel in Hungary and Croatia in recent days, directly or indirectly. They may have problems with gas supply, but I believe that they will be resolved. A bigger problem for the regional energy market would be if American and European sanctions were imposed on the Hungarian MOL. The global market is now such that a new supplier can be found in a few days, so no problem can last long," said the interlocutor of "Vijesti".
Yesterday, Lukoil Serbia announced that it is operating normally despite current developments regarding the sanctions imposed on the company by the United Kingdom and the United States.
Slight increase in stock market prices
The "Vijesti" interlocutor states that due to the new sanctions, Russian oil companies may be indirectly affected if prices increase on international oil derivatives exchanges, because they are also used to calculate retail prices in Montenegro.
"Currently, the prices of petroleum products on the international stock exchange are slightly higher by 3-4 percent than a day or two ago. However, since the next adjustment of domestic retail fuel prices with stock exchange prices is not until November 3rd, it can be expected that the market will calm down by then and that there will be no significant increases, unless some new problem occurs," said a source for "Vijesti".
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