OKTA hasn't refined a single barrel of oil since 2012, and the government wants a restart looked into: the minister says the idea is "at an early stage"

The OKTA refinery in Miladinovci hasn't processed a single barrel of crude oil since 2012. For fourteen years it has been a trading and storage hub with a chimney that just stands there. Now, with the International Energy Agency warning of possible disruptions to diesel supply, the government has suddenly asked for a study of whether the plant could run again.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski says he has spoken to the company's management and that reactivation would mean refining crude into fuel, more industrial output and GDP growth. The key, he says, is the product pipeline connecting the refinery to the port of Thessaloniki. "For reasons that are unclear to me, that pipe was out of use," Mickoski said.

The prime minister announces, the minister brakes

On 15 October, Energy Minister Sanja Božinovska toned things down: the idea is "at an early stage", for now it's "an option" and it requires "a lot of technical data". There's no decision yet, no deadline, and no estimate of what it would cost. A technical audit still has to show what state the distillation columns, safety valves and pipelines are in after sitting idle for more than a decade.

And then there's the part the announcements skip. Producing diesel today requires far stricter environmental rules and European standards than in 2012 - which means big investment in filters, catalysts and gas cleaning, above all for the air in the Skopje valley. The decision will ultimately be made by the Greek owner, Hellenic Petroleum, and it will look at just one thing: whether the margin on local refining justifies tens of millions of euros for modernisation.

If there's no shortage, what's the rush?

At the same time, both the prime minister and the minister insist there's no problem. According to traders, no fuel shortage is expected before the end of the year, and unofficially not next year either. Every trader must keep five days of stocks, there are state reserves too, and from January, Mickoski says, one or two more operators will bring fuel into the country.

If supply is stable, then restarting OKTA is a strategic decision, not an urgent one - and it should be made on numbers, not announcements. Skopje residents, who breathe some of the most polluted air in Europe every winter, have the right to know one thing above all: if the chimney in Miladinovci lights up again, who's paying for the filters?