The procurement of Montenegro’s mandatory state oil reserves will be completed in the first half of 2026, the Hydrocarbons Administration told Dan. The Administration stated that preparations are underway to launch an open public procurement procedure for petroleum products, with the start of storage depending on the outcome of that tender and in line with deadlines set by the Public Procurement Law.
“The deadlines for conducting open procurement procedures are prescribed by the Public Procurement Law, and we therefore expect this process to be completed in the first half of 2026,” the Hydrocarbons Administration said.
The Ministry of Energy and Mining told Dan that the formation of oil reserves is progressing according to plan. The Ministry confirmed that the evaluation of the submitted offer is currently in progress. It also noted that importers obligated to create their own mandatory oil reserves—Jugopetrol, INA and Petrol—have already done so, ensuring stability of supply on the domestic fuel market within the required timeframe.
The Ministry emphasized that all deadlines are being met. In accordance with the Law on Security of Supply of Petroleum Products and the 2024 Action Plan for forming mandatory oil reserves, the strategic reserves are being established within the planned schedule. The Ministry stated that the activities undertaken so far demonstrate compliance with the final benchmark of EU Chapter 15: Montenegro has aligned its legislation with EU rules on mandatory oil reserves, established an administrative framework for reserve management, and begun forming those reserves according to the action plan. This confirms, the Ministry said, that institutional preparations are progressing well and that the country will meet its obligations under EU standards.
According to the Hydrocarbons Administration, an agreement on the storage of mandatory reserves will be signed this week with Jugopetrol, which is owned by the Greek company Helleniq Energy. Jugopetrol was the only company to respond to the third public call for adapting storage facilities required under the Law on Mandatory State Oil Reserves.
The Administration noted that although only one company submitted a bid for the storage of part of the mandatory reserves, the tender will not be repeated. A decision selecting the most favorable offer was made on 11 November 2025. Within ten days of that decision, the Administration will sign a contract with the highest-ranked bidder for the storage of a portion of the mandatory reserves.
The Ministry also confirmed that having only one bidder is not considered an issue, and therefore the public invitation will not be repeated.
The Hydrocarbons Administration had announced its third tender for the storage of mandatory state oil reserves, which ran until 27 October. The only offer submitted was opened on 4 November, and a decision was reached one week later, on 11 November.
According to the public call, Jugopetrol must ensure storage capacity for eurodiesel MEST EN 590 in quantities ranging from 15 cubic meters to 20,000 cubic meters (the exact amount will be determined upon completion of the procurement procedure). Storage will be provided under the “full-for-empty” principle.
Under the 2025 Annual Plan for the formation and maintenance of reserves, the Administration intends to purchase up to 20,000 tons of eurodiesel, depending on market conditions, available storage capacity, and financial resources. Funding for the mandatory reserves comes from a surcharge of three euro cents per liter of petrol, gas oil, and per kilogram of LPG.
From the introduction of this surcharge on 11 February 2025 until mid-September, 8.5 million euros were collected. By the end of the year, the total is expected to reach around 11 million euros.
The procurement of part of Montenegro’s oil reserves will also be partially financed by the European Commission, which will provide three million euros.
