Diesel drivers rub their eyes at the pump. The diesel price is falling. Here and there in Groningen and Drenthe it is already cheaper than petrol. Why? Read more. But, take advantage of it quickly because…
The national price of diesel has fallen by thirteen cents since the beginning of this month, from almost 1.89 euros to 1.76 euros on Thursday 10 November. In the same period, the price of regular petrol fell much less rapidly, only 2.5 cents: from 1,791 to 1,765 euros. This is evident from data from Efofenedex, experts in the field of trade and logistics. Efofenedex keeps track of fuel prices on a daily basis.
Diesel has never been so expensive this year. The price of this fuel, especially popular in Drenthe, Friesland and Groningen, has risen by 70 percent since 2020. The reason for this spectacular increase is the phasing out of oil imports from Russia because of Putin’s war in Ukraine. Much diesel is made from thick oil from the land of the Urals.
Can diesel drivers breathe a sigh of relief?
But now the price is falling. Why? And can diesel drivers breathe a sigh of relief? Director Richard Fieten of the 55 gas stations of the same name, mainly in the north of the Netherlands, mentions as an explanation that there is currently ‘mainly a lot of supply’. “Russian oil has yet to be sold.” Fieten is referring to the boycott of all Russian oil products, which will take effect on 5 December.
Tim Schoenmakers is a fuel expert at BETA, the association of independent entrepreneurs with a total of 1200 filling stations in the Netherlands. He also points to the impending boycott of all Russian oil. ,,Everyone has bought in, the stocks are very full, so there is less demand. And then the price goes down.”
According to the BETA expert, there is still an explanation for the decreased diesel price. The hitherto warm autumn across Europe. “Diesel or crude oil from which diesel is made in the refinery, which enters through our country, is transported to all kinds of countries in Europe. In those countries, diesel fuel, fuel oil, is used for heating houses and buildings, just like we use gas. And because of the warm autumn, that demand is also smaller. And as a result, the diesel price is also falling.”
And what will diesel do next year?
Fieten and Schoenmakers differ on the question of whether diesel will remain cheaper, for example in 2023. The fuel specialist from Hollandscheveld expects that diesel will remain cheaper than petrol in the long term. “Maybe temporarily not for a while in January and February, but then again,” predicts Richard Fieten.
However, Tim Schoenmakers thinks that the diesel price will remain much higher for a very long time than consumers were used to in recent years. “If the diesel no longer comes from Russia ready-made or in the form of crude oil, this fuel has to come from much further. It doesn’t get any cheaper that way. In addition, many refineries have yet to adapt to the processing of non-Russian oil. That takes time and also investments, so money.”
Oil giant BP owns one of the largest refineries in Europe in Rotterdam. There, a million liters of diesel is refined from crude oil every hour. The company almost immediately stopped importing Russian oil after the war in Ukraine, Karen de Lathouder, chairman of the board of BP Netherlands recently told NOS. The British oil giant was able to switch its Rotterdam refinery quite easily, but this is more complicated for many other companies.