Diesel consumption at its peak, will there be a shortage of diesel?

Fuel consumption has reached its peak, and the question arises: will there be a diesel shortage? Diesel demand is at its highest during summer, and with increasing demand, prices have also risen. The lack of available finished petroleum products is a result of the war in the Middle East, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the mass attacks on Russian refineries by Ukraine, which reduce production. While long queues at fuel stations in Moscow are becoming more frequent, HRT checked whether this situation will affect Croatia. Long lines at some petrol stations in Moscow stretch for up to one kilometer, and drivers claim they wait for hours. We already visited five petrol stations and nowhere was there any fuel. It was available last week. Now it's gone again, said German, a driver from Moscow. It’s bad. To find fuel, you have to cross half of Moscow. And even then, you might not find it, said Marat, a taxi driver from Moscow. Russian authorities are trying to increase domestic supply through bans on diesel and gasoline exports and by importing petroleum derivatives. Russia has transformed from a net exporter to a net importer. There is a shortage of diesel on the global market, in a sense, it’s scarce. As for Croatia, we are in a much better position. We have a refinery that can fully supply the entire market. Right now, we are exiting a season where diesel demand is about 40 percent lower than usual. That means that, when the refinery is operating, we can completely supply the market, said Goran Pleša, operational director for refineries and marketing at INA. At INA, they point out that diesel is lacking globally, but not crude oil, which they secured in time. They emphasize that the most important thing is that the refinery is running. Over the past two and a half years, it has operated continuously at full capacity and plans to continue doing so. We can still import diesel if we want. Prices are high, stocks are low, but imports are still proceeding normally. What is important is that we are on the coast and can easily logistically bring in additional quantities. We mainly import from the Mediterranean market, primarily from Greece and Italy. Those refineries also don’t have any problems securing crude oil, so we are in a good position there too, said Pleša. Experts suggest that possibilities exist, but it is crucial to prepare and utilize them. If we were serious, we should already have conducted some kind of stress test of such a possibility, where we would start up the Rijeka refinery primarily to stabilize the Croatian market, rather than to satisfy the interests of the majority shareholder of INA. Our concern should be ensuring that Croatia does not face shortages of derivatives. For that, all conditions are present, said energy expert Davor Štern. He adds that multiple unfavorable circumstances have coincided, starting with the wars in Russia and Ukraine, moving through the crisis in the Middle East, to the reduction in diesel quantities in Europe due to harmful gas emissions. All of this, he warns, leads towards a diesel shortage on the European market, and thus higher prices.