If you own a diesel car, you’re among those who suffer most from the rise in fuel prices. And the worst part is that the extraordinary tax exemption activated by the Government until September 30 is going to end, taking with it a theoretical discount of 24 cents per liter.
But this is by no means happening only in Spain. Europe (as our Portuguese neighbors, not far away, know firsthand) already knows well what it is to pay diesel at more than two euros per liter and even up to three euros, and it’s going to get worse. The world’s largest oil trader has warned that refineries around the world are at the limit, to the point where there won’t be fuel for everyone.
Reserves are at historic lows
Vitol Group, which is serving as the main trader of Venezuelan oil, has warned about the situation left by the conflict in Iran, Ukraine, and Russia, with the deterioration of a large number of refineries and key energy infrastructures: oil products markets show signs of scarcity.
According to Bloomberg, the CEO of Vitol, Russell Hardy, believes that “The market [for fuels] is fairly tight and inflexible,” with reserves basically at historic lows. The problem is that with so many refineries out of operation, there is no refining capacity to prevent reserves from continuing to fall:
“We keep consuming the surplus that exists worldwide.” To that is added the drop in the flow of crude and refined fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz: it has fallen from 20 million barrels per day before the war to seven.
The United States isn’t spared either. As the business section notes, while most refineries have been operating at full capacity, domestic distillates inventories – the category that includes diesel – are at their lowest level for this time of year.
