- U.S. diesel prices have surged above $6.50 per gallon, as lost Middle Eastern and Russian fuel supplies collide with limited global refining capacity.
- Washington is debating a diesel export ban to ease domestic prices, but opponents warn it could worsen the global shortage and potentially trigger similar restrictions elsewhere.
- Europe is particularly vulnerable, having closed significant refining capacity while becoming increasingly dependent on imported crude and refined fuels from the Middle East and other regions.
U.S. diesel prices broke another record last week, topping $6.50 per gallon. In Europe, fuel prices are soaring, and shortages are looming over already struggling economies. There is simply not enough refining capacity in the world to make up for the loss of Middle Eastern and Russian barrels. And there is no quick fix. Last week, Russia said it would extend a ban on diesel exports until the end of October, as Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries continued, despite President Donald Trump’s call on the Zelensky government to stop attacking energy infrastructure, blaming the diesel price surge solely on those attacks. The latest attack came on Sunday, targeting one of Russia’s largest refineries. However, the loss of fuel supply from the Middle East is much larger, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing figures from the International Energy Agency showing the amount of diesel output lost in the Middle East was three times as high as lost Russian supply. Now, there are calls in Congress for a U.S. ban on diesel exports. The fact is that over the past decade or so, a lot of refineries have been shut down under pressure from the net-zero movement that has come to dominate energy policies, mainly in Europe, but also in the U.S. under Democratic administrations. Refining had become a losing game for many, so they either shut down or converted their capacity to biofuels. While refineries closed in Europe and the United States, however, Middle Eastern petrostates built new ones, coming to account for a bigger portion of global refining capacity. Now, that capacity has been compromised – and some of it has been damaged by Iranian strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure – and there is no one to pick up the slack, with U.S. refiners already operating at rates as high as they can. There is no solution to the world’s fuel problem in sight. Tanker traffic via the Strait of Hormuz remains severely depressed, Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries continue, and if the U.S. bans diesel exports, according to the WSJ, China and India may follow its example, plunging the rest of the world into hitherto unseen levels of fuel shortages. The biggest loser of the situation, it appears, will be Europe, due to its heavy dependence on energy imports in both crude oil and refined products, and its shrinking refining capacity.
NN: IF THE GREEENIE WEENNIES LIBERAL COMMIE FAGOTS DID NOT SHUT DOWN OIL WELLS, PIPLINES,REFINERIES AND NEW PROJECTS. OIL WOUD BE AT $60 A BARREL AND DIESEL FUEL AND GASOLINE WOULD BE UNDER $3.00. AND MIDDLE EASTERN OIL WOULD BE EXCESS SUPPLIES NOT REALLY NEEDED. AND NOT MONEY TO FUND ISLAM TERRORISTS. LOOK THESE GENTIC DEFECTIVE LIBERALS COMMIES ARE AGAINST EVERYTHING. IN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS THEY TRIED TO STOP THE AUTOMOBILE, ELECTRICITY, TRAINS, AVIATION, NUCLEAR ENERGY. THEY HAVE TRIED TO STOP ALL ADVANCEMENTS OF MANKIND. IF THEY HAD THEIR WAY WE WOULD LIVE IN GRASS HUTS FORGING FOR WILD BERRIES AND BUGS TO EAT