Bečarević: Citizens in BiH should have lower gas prices, as there is room for it

The price of crude oil today fell below $81 a barrel, the lowest price in four years, reports the Patria News Agency.

Oil prices have dropped drastically, and with them, gas prices are also falling. Why this is not reflected in our prices is currently unknown, neither to the public nor to experts. Almir Bečarević, former director of BH-Gas, says that everyone talks about a better life for citizens, but no one is doing anything about simple matters.

The price of oil began to rise above $85 a barrel at the beginning of this week, and on Monday it increased to $85.46 as Asian countries bought oil to supply their refineries.

However, a sharp drop in price occurred after some OPEC members announced that companies would not suspend oil production regardless of the price drop. Kuwait, an OPEC member, refused to suspend production, stating that prices would stabilize after the market consumes the surplus oil. Other members, such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, also announced they would lower oil prices for America to compete with domestic oil producers, which contributed to the accelerated decline, according to oil experts.

OPEC members will meet on November 27 to agree on a strategy to curb the decline in oil prices and discuss whether suspending production is a sustainable option.

Otherwise, the Government of the Federation of BiH adopted the energy needs balance for the first six months of 2014 at its session. The part related to gas reads as follows:

- Regarding natural gas, consumption in the first six months of this year was 83,934 Sm3 and was 32 percent lower than planned, and 17 percent lower than last year. The supply of natural gas to the Federation of BiH was stable during this period – the report states.

Bečarević says that this data probably means nothing to anyone and doesn't say much, but a lot can be seen from it.

- Consumption of 83 million Sm3 is one of the smallest quantities of gas delivered to the BiH market. For example, in some previous years, consumption for just two months was at the level of this semi-annual quantity. This year, approximately 160 million Sm3 will be delivered to consumers, while in previous years the quantity of gas delivered could be around 120 million Sm3 per quarter. Now we have annual consumption at the level of quarterly consumption from before. All this would be perfect because it means reduced imports of this energy source, but it should be known that this does not only mean reduced imports but also reduced energy consumption in the Canton of Sarajevo that pollutes the environment, affects smog and citizens' health, and that gas consumers are choosing new suppliers, as "Alumina-Zvornik" has already found – says Bečarević.

He further notes that one of the main, but not the only, reasons for lower gas consumption is the high price of gas for end consumers.

- I have been warning about these facts for two years, and we see the result through gas consumption. Prices of oil and oil derivatives are constantly falling and are now around $82 USD, whereas they were once $147 USD. Gas prices, which are formed based on oil and oil derivatives, have also fallen and followed this trend. Since 2012, Gazprom has reduced the price of gas by 40%, while it has been reduced by 10% for citizens. In competition with other fuels, gas is becoming too expensive and is not following the trend of price reductions, which is why we have a drastic drop in gas consumption, but also an increase in air pollution. What the ultimate goal of such a pricing policy is, I do not know, but it should be known that citizens should have lower gas prices because there is room for it, and this will be particularly evident starting from January 2015 – added Bečarević.