The government proposed to create a strategic oil reserve owned by the Albanian state, but part of its cost would be borne by private operators, who are expected to transfer this cost to the final retail price.

The government itself has also acknowledged in its report that securing funds will require, among other things, the establishment of a tariff that will be applied to the quantities of hydrocarbon energy products, which will increase the financial burden in the chain and will be reflected in the final result of the sales price to the consumer.

The reserve is intended to be used in cases of emergency, when imports may be interrupted and the country needs to guarantee the supply of fuel for vital services, such as ambulances or military vehicles.

The draft law, in Article 8, stipulates that the reserve will be created through the storage of oil by a state authority to be established and in agreement with licensed private operators. In this way, private companies will be charged with physically storing fuel on behalf of the state, in order to create a security reserve.

But in addition to the obligation to physically deposit the product, operators will also be charged a fee defined in the draft law as the "security reserve fee". This fee will go to a fund that will be used to cover the costs of creating the physical reserve, maintenance, monitoring and other costs of the scheme. While the rest of the costs for maintaining the reserve, according to the draft, will also be covered through loans, revenues from the state budget, revenues from the sale of reserves, etc.

The Hydrocarbons Association raises concerns about how the government plans to finance the proposed new model for creating oil security.

According to them, the draft does not specify any costs for purchasing fuel for the reserve, storing and renewing the stock, while the treatment of losses in the event that the price of fuel drops after the reserve has been purchased also remains unclear.

The draft law establishes a tariff on excise hydrocarbon products, for which the Hydrocarbons Association argues first that this payment cannot be considered a tariff for a service, as it is not a service that the state provides to companies, but the financing of a public obligation through a tariff imposed on fuels.

This payment, according to the Hydrocarbons Association, will turn into an additional cost for the consumer, as it will be included in the price of fuel. For this reason, the Hydrocarbons Association considers it a "secret tax", unconstitutional since its level will not be approved by Parliament, but through the decision of the line ministries.

Meanwhile, in October 2025, the Government approved the draft law on the creation of oil security reserves, but an official document that accompanied the initiative during the consultation phase clearly stated that the fee for financing the scheme will affect the final price of fuel.

The Impact Assessment Report, drafted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy during the consultation phase, highlights a potential direct effect on the price paid in the market.

The document analyzes several alternatives and determines Option 1, the drafting and adoption of a new law on safety reserves, as the preferred option.

In the analysis of the policy impacts, the Ministry foresees that the creation and operation of the system will be financed, among other things, through a tariff on the quantities of hydrocarbon products.

“Providing funds will require, among other things, the establishment of a tariff that will be applied to the quantities of hydrocarbon energy products,” the report states. According to the same document, this will increase the financial burden on the chain and will be reflected in the final result of the sales price to the consumer.

Further, in the section where the costs for businesses are analyzed, the report is even more direct. It foresees the imposition of a tariff on hydrocarbon products subject to excise duty and adds that "this will affect the final selling price of by-products in the domestic market."

The executive summary of the report also foresees financial fees for businesses. According to it, these costs are estimated to be minimal and the fees will be collected after the product is sold to the final consumer.

The report does not provide an estimate of how much the effect could be in lek per liter. The level of the tariff is not specified in the impact assessment and the costs are not quantified, something that does not yet make it possible to determine the real impact of the price increase.

The mechanism itself was already foreseen in the consultation phase: the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, together with the Ministry of Finance, would propose to the Council of Ministers the tariff for the creation and maintenance of the security reserve, applied to hydrocarbon products subject to excise duty.

Even without this tax, Albania, among the poorest countries in Europe, is the third most expensive in value, with oil currently trading at almost 2.5 euros, at levels almost the same as Norway and Denmark. Measured in purchasing power parity, oil is 2.6 times more expensive than the European average.

The main reason is related to the heavy burden of taxes, which constitute almost half of the price, out of about 30% that the region has, while the latter has continuously implemented fiscal incentives. But, instead of lowering taxes, the government, at the height of the crisis, took an action that is expected to increase the price even further. / Monitor