Montenegro will begin refurbishing oil storage tanks at the Port of Bar in February, following the signing of a contract between the Ministry of Energy and Mining and a consortium led by Croatia’s S.A.K.Z., together with several local companies. The works, valued at around €1.74 million excluding VAT, are expected to last nine months.
The project includes the adaptation and modernization of petroleum storage tanks R11, R12 and R18. Preparatory meetings have already been held with contractors, supervisors and Jugopetrol, the terminal operator. The contractor has provided a performance guarantee equal to 10% of the contract value, along with a €500,000 professional liability insurance policy. This was the third tender attempt, after two previous procedures failed due to underestimated costs and invalid bids.
The refurbishment is considered crucial for establishing mandatory oil reserves in line with EU requirements. Once all legal procedures are completed, a new tender for diesel procurement will be launched, following the cancellation of a previous urgent tender worth €11 million due to a non-compliant bid.
Under the government’s reserve strategy, the hydrocarbons authority plans to allocate between €9 million and €12 million in 2026 to purchase 12,000 to 16,000 tons of diesel, financed through a fuel levy. The fuel is intended to be stored in the upgraded tanks at the Port of Bar, with temporary storage in Montenegro, Croatia or Italy as a contingency if the refurbishment is delayed, at an estimated cost of €5 per ton per month.