They lined up to fill up. But at the end of the morning, the TotalEnergies service station in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine) closed and these motorists had to turn back. One or more fuels are missing, stations open ad hoc… It has been difficult in recent days to refuel, especially at TotalEnergies service stations.
According to government spokesman Olivier Véran, “12% of stations across the country encounter difficulties with at least one type of fuel, with variability, since in the Hauts-de-France region we reach more than 30% of the seasons that may encounter difficulties.”
These difficulties result above all from “a logistical difficulty” due to various structural and economic factors according to Frédéric Plan, general delegate of the French Federation of Fuels, Fuels and Heating, interviewed this Wednesday on BFMTV.
“Accordion Effect”
“The French market, which was supplied with a certain amount of resources, including Russian diesel, because it is above all diesel that is in tension, is obviously less supplied and it is a rather tense market, explains Frédéric Plan. Gold in a tense market, there was this good initiative for the consumer to make a government discount of 30 cents, on this total offer for reasons that we will not return. “.
Motorists have often waited until early September to refuel, preferring TotalEnergies stations to benefit from lower prices. “Since everyone wants to take advantage of the discount, the tanks are fuller than usual and people are filling where they did not exist before. This puts logistics to the test, you have to restock,” continues Frédéric Plan. However, this need to supply the stations more regularly and quickly does not seem to have been adequately foreseen. TotalEnergies recalled, however, on Monday that “the replenishment of [nos] seasons continues.
“A Feeling of Scarcity”
The difficulties in refueling, in particular, weigh heavily on professionals, large consumers of this product. This Wednesday, the president of LR de Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrand, alerted the government to these difficulties. “Drivers are finding it increasingly difficult to find stations, sometimes even in areas far away from depots”, referring to “shortage situations or long waits” in Hauts-de-France.
Despite these difficulties, specialists refuse to speak of scarcity.
“We’re in a textbook case of self-fulfilling scarcity,” Eric Leser, editor-in-chief of Transitions & Energies magazine, said Wednesday on BFMTV.
“Since everyone fears shortages, everyone will try to fill their car as quickly as possible and the famous shortage will be created,” he summarizes.
“What we can currently see in these somewhat stolen service stations is an impression of scarcity, but it is not scarcity, stresses Frédéric Plan. There is no scarcity because the product exists. Somewhere, it has to be delivered.”
New fever in the seasons at the end of October?
A route that will probably continue to be complicated in the coming days. With two other unknowns: first, the strike at the refineries. Since September 27, a strike has been taking place at several Total and Esso refineries. “For the time being, the strike at the refineries has not limited the amount of fuel available. Total and the other oil companies have reserves for approximately one month, and they also import refined products”, continues Eric Leser.
For this specialist, “it is not the amount of fuel that is missing”, it is the possibility of supplying service stations quickly enough. But according to him, the State has every interest in the conflict not being prolonged.
The end of October also worries specialists. On November 1, the government reimbursement, like that of TotalEnergies, will fall. From 50 cents, the combination of the two discounts will increase to 20 cents per litre.
“That is why we can fear the last week of October when people will want to anticipate this drop in the discount”, anticipates Frédéric Plan.
In the middle of the All Saints Bridge, can the logistics of delivering the stations at the speed where the tanks will be emptied and those of motorists will be filled?
Source: BFM TV
