Đokić: Azerbaijan Interested in Brod Oil Refinery

The Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republika Srpska, Petar Đokić, stated that Azerbaijan has shown a certain interest in cooperation regarding the Brod Oil Refinery.

“If this happens, they will develop this cooperation with the company “Zarubežnjeft“. We have been informed that they are currently in the initial phase of interest in this project, and they are analyzing and evaluating the project,” Đokić said in Banja Luka.

Đokić mentioned that he and the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Radovan Višković, will be visiting Moscow in the next three days, and it’s possible that they will have meetings on this topic.

He stated that Republika Srpska is interested in reactivating oil production and refining at the Brod Refinery.

“At this moment, the company Zarubezhneft has not found economic interest because the total turnover that the refinery had when it was active was small, and it operated at a loss for many years. It had a production capacity of 750,000 to 900,000 tons annually,” Đokić explained.

Đokić noted that the annual production at the Brod Refinery should be between 1.3 to 1.9 million tons for the company to justify its operations.

Commenting on the lithium exploration in the municipality of Lopare, Đokić stated that the relevant ministry is aware of this project, emphasizing that every research project is beneficial for Republika Srpska.

“At this stage of research, the existence of this raw material in that area has been confirmed. We will see how this activity will progress later; it’s far from reaching exploitation and production development. Research projects differ significantly from the actual exploitation,” Đokić explained.

He mentioned that there have been no negative reactions from the local population or other interested parties in that area so far.

Đokić added that this project is proceeding according to the schedule established by the decision of the Republika Srpska Government.

He confirmed that a brown coal mine will be opened in the Bukova Kosa settlement near Prijedor.

“A contract has been signed, and now we can proceed with its implementation,” Đokić concluded.