The Belgian Oil Industry Federation (Energia) said that the embargo of the European Union (EU) for Russian refined petroleum products, including diesel, will not affect fuel supply in Belgium in the context that this ban will take effect from February 5.
Energia attributed the reason that the country’s fuel market was not affected by the ban because its refineries produced 50% more diesel than they consumed, with an output of 14, 6 million tons compared to domestic consumption of 9.4 million tons in 2021.
In addition, since the EU announced an embargo targeting crude oil and refined Russian petroleum products, Belgian oil companies have taken precautions to diversify geographically in order to replace oil and diesel oil imported from Russia with products from other regions of the world.
Energia says Russia’s share of the diesel market has fallen in Europe from 45% to 25% in recent months. Specifically, to compensate for imported diesel from Russia, oil imports from the Middle East, Asia (India) and the US are likely to increase.
[Châu Âu đổ xô tích trữ dầu diesel trước lệnh cấm nhập sản phẩm dầu Nga]
Energia further stressed that Belgium is “better positioned” than some other countries to diversify its oil/diesel imports, especially thanks to the “flexibility” in industry and logistics of the manufacturers. oil filter.
In addition, diesel stockpiles at the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam port hub have increased in recent weeks, to the level of October 2021, that is, before the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Energia, the diesel embargo might create uncertainty in the market. After the Russian crude oil embargo in December 2022, supply and demand were balanced relatively quickly.
However, replacing Russian diesel with imports from other regions will most likely require a longer supply chain. Energia stressed that the current energy crisis is an “opportunity for the Belgian authorities to create an opportunity for alternatives” and to “diversify the energy mix”.
Huong Giang (VNA/Vietnam+)
