Finance
COVA is a not-for-profit foundation. The State will be liable for any debts of COVA that remain if it should be liquidated.
COVA’s operating costs are funded from a stockholding levy on oil products. This levy amounts to EUR 8 per 1,000 litres, as laid down in Section 27 of the Petroleum Products Stockpiling Act 2012 (Wva).
As a legal person with a statutory task, COVA makes use of State treasury banking and does not have a credit rating. Its annual accounts are submitted for approval to the Minister for Climate and Energy.
COVA’s key figures
COVA’s operating costs are mostly costs of renting storage facilities. In addition, there are costs of inspection, insurance, logistics and payment of interest on the loans outstanding with the government. The organisation’s expenditure consists of staff costs, accommodation costs and IT. COVA achieved operating surpluses in recent years. These surpluses are used to reduce the debt position, which means that they revert to the State.
COVA’s stocks are valued at historical cost, where necessary adjusted to a lower market value. These stocks represent more than 90% of COVA’s balance sheet total.
Funding of COVA
COVA’s operating costs are funded from a stockholding levy on oil products, imposed on end users of transport fuels. The Petroleum Products Stockpiling Act (Wva) has set the stockholding levy at EUR 8 per 1,000 litres. This levy is imposed in the same way as excise duty. The income which COVA receives from the stockholding levy therefore moves in line with the annual consumption of gasoline, diesel and LPG. Under international arrangements, kerosene used in international aviation is exempt from excise duty and thereby also from the stockholding levy.
Consumption source: CBS Statline
Loans
COVA funds its oil stock purchases with loans it takes out from the Ministry of Finance, under the terms of State treasury banking. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy guarantees loans up to EUR 1,465 million. This guarantee offers sufficient scope for funding the purchase of the necessary stocks. The Wva provides that the State will be liable for any debts of COVA which remain after its liquidation as a legal person (Section 25 Wva).
COVA annual report
Current tensions in the oil and gas markets and the energy transition are high on the agenda. Due to COVA’s important role in the security of supply for crude oil and oil products in the Netherlands, we strive to report transparently on this. As of the financial reporting for the year 2021, COVA’s annual report will be published on our website. The report can be downloaded here COVA annual report 2021
The year 2021, being the second year with challenging corona measures, COVA’s financial situation remained robust. In the annual report, we describe the developments in the (international) oil and oil storage market, and how these have been taken into account in our risk analysis. We also elaborate on COVA’s stock overview and our governance. In the Financial Statements you will find an explanation of the annual figures and the Standards for Remuneration Act (WNT). The remuneration data are an integral part of COVA’s financial statements for which an auditor’s report has been issued. As a legal person with a statutory task, COVA is subject to the Standards for Remuneration Act and thus obliged to maintain a register with data from previous years, which can be downloaded here.
