The Hydrocarbons Administration has announced a tender for the procurement of the first quantity of state mandatory oil reserves, 19,6 million liters of Eurodiesel, which will be stored at the oil terminal in the port of Bar, with a strict clause that the fuel must be produced after January 21, 2026 and that in no case may it originate from the processing of Russian crude oil, nor from bidders against whom Montenegro, the UN, the EU, the USA and the UK have imposed restrictive measures, or sanctions.
The deadline for submitting bids is December 23, and the procedure is urgent due to Montenegro's obligation to meet the EU benchmarks for closing Chapter 15 (energy) and establish mandatory reserves of petroleum products in 2025. The tender is worth 11 million euros.
Since the state has not adopted the oil storage facilities of the state-owned company "Montenegro Bunus" in which it plans to store oil reserves, they will for now be stored in the warehouses of "Jugopetrol", owned by the Greek Hellenic Group. "Vijesti" is waiting for answers from the Hydrocarbons Administration to questions regarding the details of the contract with "Jugopetrol".
Private oil companies "Jugopetrol", "Ina Crna Gora" and "Petrol Crna Gora", which by law are required to form reserves together with the state for this year, have purchased their quantities. The administration is required to purchase 60 percent, and private companies 40 percent, of the total prescribed obligation that Montenegro has.
In December last year, the Parliament adopted the Law on Security of Supply of Petroleum Products, which is essential for the closure of Chapter 15 (energy) and requires the formation of oil reserves.
The tender documentation states that the reason for the urgency for shortening the deadline for submitting bids is the obligation of the Administration (procurement authority) to conduct this procurement procedure in 2025 in order to meet the criteria for closing negotiations on Chapter 15 Energy (establishment of mandatory reserves of petroleum products in accordance with Directive 2009/119/EC).
Delay due to warehouse
"The contracting authority could not influence the earlier implementation of this procurement, because storage capacities in Montenegro, either state-owned or privately owned, were not available, and ensuring storage capacities is a key prerequisite for initiating the fuel procurement procedure. The contracting authority concluded the Storage Agreement on December 04, 2025. In order to increase security of supply, the Government, through the Action Plan for the Formation of Mandatory Reserves of Petroleum Products adopted on December 26, 2024 and the Annual Plan for the Formation and Maintenance of Mandatory Reserves of Petroleum Products for 2025 of the Hydrocarbons Administration adopted by the Government on July 31, 2025, prioritized the storage of mandatory reserves of petroleum products in Montenegro over storage abroad. The contracting authority could not influence the availability of storage capacities on the territory of Montenegro that are privately owned, because the relevant ministry in Greece approved the storage of mandatory reserves "Jugopetrol in Greece only in November 2025, and until then, "Jugopetrol", as a legal entity obligated to form part of mandatory reserves, had to store its mandatory reserves exclusively at the oil terminal in the port of Bar," the tender documentation states.
It is also stated that the Hydrocarbons Administration could not influence the availability of state-owned storage capacities, because their renovation, which is being carried out by the ministry responsible for energy, has not yet been contracted, although the start of work was planned for the first quarter of 2025.
Checking the origin of fuel
“Eurodiesel must be produced after 21 January 2026 and must not be produced by processing crude oil originating in the Russian Federation. In order to prove compliance with the above requirement, the bidder shall, prior to the delivery of the eurodiesel, provide the purchaser with the following documentation, depending on the country of origin of the eurodiesel: a) if the eurodiesel is produced in the EU or in the countries referred to in Article 3ma (1) and Annex LI to Council Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014, the Seller shall provide a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) issued by the eurodiesel manufacturer, which must contain the identification of the manufacturer, the date of issue of the document and all data relevant to the origin and specification of the fuel, as well as certificates on the quantity and quality of the eurodiesel issued at the port of loading by an independent type A control body accredited according to the requirements of the EN ISO/IEC 17020 standard, and a Certificate of Origin of the eurodiesel,” the documentation states.
The tender documentation specifies that if the Eurodiesel comes from a third country that, according to the International Energy Agency data of 29 October 2025, was not a crude oil exporter in 2024, the bidder must submit an extended set of evidence of the origin of the fuel. In addition to the mandatory documents - the manufacturer's Safety Data Sheet, certificates of quantity and quality issued at the port of loading by an independent type A control body accredited according to EN ISO/IEC 17020 and the certificate of origin of the Eurodiesel, additional confirmation is required that the fuel is not produced from Russian oil. Which evidence will be provided depends on how the refinery operates technologically: if it can separate and separately process Russian oil, then an independent third party issues a certificate from the refinery that the Eurodiesel was produced on a production line that uses exclusively crude oil of non-Russian origin. If the refinery does not have the ability to do so, a third party independent confirmation is required that the refinery has not received or processed crude oil from the Russian Federation in the period of 60 days prior to the date of issue of the bill of lading for the ship with the Eurodiesel in question. The documentation additionally states that, in the case of delivery under the In-Tank model, the bidder must provide the purchaser with the manufacturer's Safety Data Sheet with the manufacturer's identity, date of issue and all relevant data on the origin and specification of the fuel, as well as a certificate of origin of the goods, prior to delivery.
Scoring criteria
Only an economic entity against which Montenegro, the UN, the EU, the USA and/or the UK have not introduced restrictive measures of prohibition and limitation (sanctions) may participate in the public procurement procedure, which, as stated in the tender, is proven on the basis of a certificate, confirmation or other act of the competent authority issued on the basis of records kept in accordance with the regulations of the country in which the economic entity is headquartered, or the competent authority of the USA.
“The bidder who offers a delivery date for Eurodiesel in the first decade of April 2026 (from 1 to 10 April 2026) receives 10 points. The bidder who offers a delivery date for Eurodiesel in the second decade of April 2026 (from 11 to 20 April) receives 7 points. The bidder who offers a delivery date for Eurodiesel in the third decade of April 2026 (from 21 to 30 April) receives 5 points. The criterion for selecting the bid is the lowest offered price for the storage of part of the mandatory reserves of petroleum products of the Administration.
Only a company that has not been convicted by a final judgment and whose executive director has not been convicted by a final judgment for any of the criminal offenses with the characteristics of criminal association, creation of a criminal organization, tax and contribution evasion, terrorism, money laundering..., which is proven on the basis of a certificate, confirmation or other act of the competent authority issued on the basis of criminal records, in accordance with the regulations of the country in which the business entity has its registered office, or in which the authorized person of that business entity has his/her permanent residence, may participate in the tender.
Bonus video:
