Refuelling diesel may become more expensive again shortly. This is due to a European import ban that took effect this weekend. A large part of the diesel in Europe was still made in Russia in recent months. Still, experts think that the impact of the sanction is not too bad.
Oil expert Mark Williams of consultancy Woodmac says that the price of diesel will undoubtedly rise again. But he doesn’t expect us to be back to last year’s extremely high price levels “when the market panicked” any time soon.
Shortly after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Dutch motorists paid 2,375 euros for a litre of diesel at one point. After the excise duty reduction by the government, that price came into view again a few times due to increasing shortages, but the price here is now much lower.
The countries of the European Union have not been importing crude oil from Russia since December 5. And now, this also applies to petroleum products from Russia, such as diesel and kerosene. These measures aim to ensure that Russia receives less money for the war against Ukraine.
Connoisseur Paul van Selms of consumer collective UnitedConsumers does not foresee any significant consequences. Large diesel stocks have already been built up in recent times. The recommended price of the major oil companies even fell somewhat in the Netherlands recently, to 1,890 euros per litre.
Eugene Lindell, an expert at Facts Global Energy, also does not think that the diesel market in Europe will run dry due to the loss of supply from Russia. “There are plenty of volumes out there, and it’s just a matter of tapping into the opportunities.”
Russia itself sees no reason for the time being to reduce the production of diesel and kerosene in response to the European import ban, Russian energy minister Nikolai Shulginov said on Friday. So far, the Russian oil sector has shown resilience despite Western sanctions imposed last year. This is also because the Russians still have large buyers in countries such as China and India.