Diesel drivers with empty tanks? “Already emerging scarcity”

Diesel shortage hangs in the air

Importing Russian diesel will be banned later this year with the European boycott on Russian oil. Given that two-thirds of our oil products come from Russia, that creates a diesel shortage. “A scarcity is already developing, you can see that in the expensive diesel prices at the pump,” Ewout Klok, chairman of the Interest Association for Tank Stations BETA, told BNR Nieuwsradio. He signals that stocks are currently “extremely erratic and totally unpredictable.”

Larger oil companies such as Shell and Texaco are likely to remain able to supply diesel, but the smaller local pump owner with unbranded fuels could potentially run out of diesel.

Solution

Since it remains to be seen whether we will want to purchase oil from Russia at all in the future, we must look for alternatives. According to Klok, the diesel shortage is primarily a logistical problem. This is because the diesel must now arrive at gas stations from other parts of the world. Setting up these new logistics chains simply takes time.

Diesel driver the brunt

For diesel drivers, the diesel shortage means that the price of a liter of diesel is now likely to rise even further, even though it is already at record levels. “It no longer pays to drive diesel,” Klok said. To illustrate, a liter of diesel now costs 2.26 euros, about 50 cents more than a year ago. So a “tipping point” for a diesel car no longer actually exists.