Dražen Jakšić, Director of the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar (EIHP), appeared on the RTL Danas news programme last Friday to discuss fuel prices and inflation.
“The crisis has been going on for a long time, ever since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, when we experienced the first disruptions. With growing tensions between the United States and Iran and the crisis in the Persian Gulf, the situation has deteriorated considerably. The fact that we have not yet felt the full impact on our bills is entirely due to the measures implemented by the Government, including energy price subsidies and caps on retail prices. Prices on global markets have been higher for some time, and it is only natural that these increases gradually feed through to retail prices and the entire supply chain,” the EIHP Director said, commenting on fuel prices, which have risen by more than 20 per cent over the past year.
“In addition to higher crude oil procurement costs, there is also the issue of refining capacity. Europe has traditionally been a net importer of diesel. Refining capacity in Europe has been declining continuously for more than 15 years, while Europe previously imported significant volumes of diesel from Russia. Those imports were replaced by supplies from the United States, but we are now seeing indications that disruptions could also affect supplies from that market,” Jakšić said. He stressed that Croatia is not at risk of fuel shortages, although further upward pressure on prices could occur.
Jakšić also commented on reports that G7 countries had agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel to prevent shortages and explained where Croatia is most vulnerable regarding petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity.
You can read the full interview at the following link: https://net.hr/danas/rtl-danas/strucnjak-otkrio-zasto-je-cijena-dizela-toliko-visoka-evo-gdje-je-hrvatska-najranjivija-0cd3f2e3-be78-11f1-936f-9600040c8f8e
