This is how Hungary’s safety reserve of gasoline and diesel is preserved – How much is left?
In the decades of energy abundance left behind, it was understandably not focused on Hungary’s remarkable safety fuel reserves, but this will happen all at once in the summer of 2022 as a result of the energy crisis, the government’s official price restrictions on gasoline and diesel, and technical reasons. As a result of the shortage on the domestic fuel market, the cabinet decided to release part of the strategic stocks, so the reserves stood at have decreasedand by the end of the summer they had sunk to a thirty-year low.
In this situation, it might be interesting to go around in more detail, what can be known about safety fuel reserves in Hungary, among other things, about who stores it, where, what it consists of, the costs of storage, and how the quality of the stocks is maintained?
Why was it created?
The oil crises of the 1970s made developed industrial countries aware of the need for a strategic stock of petroleum and petroleum products. During this period, both the former EEC (European Economic Community) and the member countries joining the International Energy Agency (hereinafter: IEA) appointed by the OECD decided whether it was necessary to have safety reserves of petroleum and petroleum products in order to increase security of supply. Three models of safety stockpiling have emerged in international practice: a) the activity is under the control of the state, b) safety stockpiling is the responsibility of the oil companies, and c) a separate organization is created for safety stockpiling. The latter of the three models is supported by both the European Union and the IEA, and Hungary also follows this concept.
Which legislation and the size of the safety stocks, based on which aspects, in what quantities, and who stores them?
In Hungary, after the change of regime, the need for state support for security of supply arises, and XLIX of 1993 on the safety stocking of imported petroleum and petroleum products. law entrusted the predecessor of the Hungarian Hydrocarbon Inventory Association (hereinafter: MSZKSZ or the Association), the Petroleum and Petroleum Product Inventory Association, with the creation and maintenance of safety stocks. According to the provisions of the law, in the period 1993-1998, the Association created the strategic reserves of Hungary in accordance with the conditions of accession to the IEA and later to the EU, which must correspond to at least 90 days of domestic net imports.
After the accession of Hungary, the law on stockpiling was also harmonized. The effective stockpiling law (Act XXIII of 2013) is based on Directive 2009/119/EC on the obligation to stockpile minimum petroleum and/or petroleum products (hereinafter: Directive), and is in full compliance with it. The Directive defines all the basic pillars of safety stocking: who can be obliged, how much stock must be kept, what products can be used to fulfill the stocking obligation, what calculation methodology must be used to determine the requirement, what deadlines must be met, forms of cooperation can be established within the Union for the mark, what In some cases, stocks can be released and what are the data obligations – the Hungarian Hydrocarbon Inventory Association, which stores the stocks, informed us.
Where is it stored?
The MSZKSZ only stores strategic stocks in Hungary.
The Association stores safety fuel stocks under a deposit agreement. The security stocks are the property of the Association, the storage companies (custodians) deposit compensation for the storage of the stock, ensure the preservation of the quality and quantity of the stock, and are responsible for the security of the strategic stocks.
The safety reserves of crude oil its storage facilities are located in Százhalombatta and Tiszaújváros, with a total capacity of 715 thousand cubic meters; while reserves of petroleum products are kept in Celldömölk, Komárom, Pétfürdő, Szajol, Tiszaújváros and Vámosgyörk with a nominal storage capacity of 1,010,000 cubic meters. The strategic natural gas storage facility was built in Szőre with a capacity of 12,723,644 MW/h, 1.8 billion cubic meters.
The range of storage companies consists of Hexum Holding Zrt., which is 10 percent owned by MSZKSZ, Productémtáro Zrt., which is 25.9 percent owned by MSZKSZ, and Mol Nyrt. and Moltrade-Mineralimpex Zrt., which is 100 percent owned.
What sources cover the storage and maintenance costs of the safety fuel reserve?
The Association covers the costs of the storage and maintenance of the safety kits from the member contribution paid by the members of the Association.
The item appears in the retail price of gasoline and diesel, meaning that consumers ultimately pay.
What is the current stocking fee in the retail price of 1 liter of petrol and diesel?
Current Current Fees/Stocking Fee a 1.99 HUF per liter for petrol, and 1.864 HUF for diesel (at volume values of 15 degrees Celsius). As of July 1, 2020, both prices were reduced by less than half, from HUF 4,145 per liter for gasoline, and HUF 3,883 for diesel.
How is reserve quality maintained?
In order to preserve their quality, the safety sets can only be stored in a technically controlled storage area that is licensed for operation and complies with the requirements of the safety and environmental legislation. In order to maintain quality, storage companies that store safety stocks are obliged to have the quality of their products inspected by an accredited laboratory every six months. The Association also checks the quantity and storage conditions of safety stocks every year as part of an on-site inspection.
In order to ensure a longer shelf life, the safety fuel stocks are bio-free, as well as the Association’s XXIII of 2013 on the safety stocking of imported petroleum and petroleum products. in accordance with the provisions of the Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) replaces the fuel stocks with a freshly manufactured product every 6 years
What are the current levels of the various types of safety fuel stocks?
The MSZKSZ website data According to The size of the strategic stocks corresponds to 73 days of consumption in the second half of September. The number of due days was still 100 at the end of February, and the size of the reserve was constantly decreasing.
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