The government of Estonia has decided to use 5,000 tonnes of diesel from the liquid fuel stocks of the country to secure the supplies to the liquid fuel market of the region. The order of the government is based on the decision of the International Energy Agency to support the international security of supply of liquid fuels through the joint deployment of strategic fuel stocks of the Member States.
The order allows AS Eesti Varude Keskus as the stock manager to sell fuel, which includes making sales offers to the international fuel market. The current supply of petrol and diesel in Estonia is well guaranteed, and stocks of both types of fuel will last for about five months under normal consumption. Therefore, it is intended to offer to the market stocks that are stored outside Estonia. In accordance with the decision of the government, the stock must be deployed within four months and restored as soon as possible.
Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas noted that although there are no fuel refineries in Estonia, the suspension of Russian oil imports may also affect our market. “Supply disruptions have an impact on the general balance of supply and demand in the region and on fuel prices,” he said, noting that finished oil products, especially transport fuel, are mainly imported to Estonia from Lithuania and Finland. “Although Russian energy carriers have a significant market share in the world, both the International Energy Agency and the members of the European Union have stocks and alternative supply channels for more tense situations, which are now partly being used to stabilise the market.”
The order of the government stems from the proposal of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to mobilise at least 60 million barrels of the strategic fuel stocks of the Member States. This represents 4% of the total oil stocks of 1.5 billion barrels of the Member States. In accordance with the proposal for the distribution plan sent by the IEA, Estonia’s task is to supply the market with 36 thousand barrels of reserves, or approximately 5,000 tonnes of oil products, which makes up two per cent of our reserves.
Tensions in the world fuel market are due to the aggression of Russia in Ukraine.