Diesel scarcity: even higher prices and car-free Sunday?

At the end of last summer, diesel became more expensive than petrol in our country for the first time. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), this is due to reduced imports from Russia and because oil products are increasingly being used by the industry as an alternative to gas. A hard blow for those who have a diesel car at their doorstep, because that means any financial advantage over a petrol car disappears. A diesel is generally more economical than a petrol equivalent, but due to the further increased price difference with petrol, this no longer compensates for the higher mrb that you pay. The sale of a diesel car in the Netherlands is therefore no fun at the moment because of the slumping used car prices and the low demand. In that case, exporting is often the best option, although the sales value is usually hard to swallow.

The chance of an improvement coming soon is not great. On the contrary, with the impending boycott on Russian diesel and oil, the situation may only get worse. There are already warnings of a diesel shortage. In the worst case, according to Elisabeth Post of Transport and Logistics Netherlands, a ‘car-free Sunday for diesel drivers’ can even be considered, to spare the logistics sector, we read on AD.nl. Then it must go far, but Post does not rule it out.

Other diesel?

Switching to oil from the Middle East to make up for the lack of Russian oil is not an easy task, because that ‘heavier’ oil requires different processing and the refineries must be prepared for this. Even if there is no actual shortage, it is likely that even more will have to be paid for diesel. Paul van Selms, fuel expert at UnitedConsumers explains to the AD: “An alternative (for Russian oil and diesel, ed.) will always be more expensive. But, whether the price will be a dime or two dimes higher? Nobody knows. Everything depends on how well oil companies prepare.’ ‘

Van Selms does not necessarily expect a shortage to arise. Energy expert Jilles van de Beukel of The Hague Center of Strategic Studies may have a somewhat soothing message. Europe has a strong market position (simply because of money), which means that a shortage may occur less quickly here than in poorer countries. According to him, it is not certain that the diesel price will explode (further): “There is also a looming global recession that will lead to lower demand for oil and a lower oil price. But it is quite possible that diesel will remain a lot more expensive than petrol.”