The government of Slovenia began fuel rationing measures this week amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, supply chain issues, and fuel tourism from neighbouring countries in Europe.
Ljubljana announced the first rationing measures of any EU nation this week, imposing a limit of 50 litres (13 gallons) per person or 200 litres (53 gallons) per business per day in response to shortages across the country, public broadcaster RTV Slovenia reported.
Prime Minister Robert Golob stressed that there are no shortages and that the warehouses of backup supply are full.
However, supply chain issues, panic buying, and foreigners taking advantage of Slovenia’s relatively lower fuel costs have led to petrol stations running out of fuel, including in the capital, the local Delo newspaper reported.
Some gas stations neighbouring Croatia have also experienced shortages this week after the government announced an impending price hike.
In addition to placing a limit on the amount of fuel individuals can purchase per day, the government has also taken special measures on the nation’s railways to ensure that fuel transport trains are given top priority.
Sašo Berger, the CEO of the Petrol Group, one of the largest suppliers in Slovenia, said that most of the shortages at individual gas stations were due to an “extremely sudden increase in demand,” and that the situation has since calmed.
Should demand remain extraordinarily high, the company would still be able to “stabilise” by Friday, he said.
The bid to protect energy security in central Europe came as Japan moved to protect its own on Friday, announcing an increase in use of coal to offset rising market prices for natural gas.
Petrol Group board member Drago Kavšek said the main cause of the spike in demand was the Slovenian government’s fuel pricing system, which is based on a 14-day average of international prices.
This means that sudden market fluctuations can make purchasing fuel in Slovenia significantly cheaper than in neighbouring countries that use daily price adjustments.
Regardless of the particularities of the Slovenian market, the rationing measures come amid increasing concern over the spread of shortages resulting from the conflict in Iran and the continued shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil supply flows.
This week, Shell CEO Wael Sawan warned that governments across Europe may need to begin restricting fuel supplies and implement rationing measures in the coming days. He said that some Asian countries have already begun to enact rationing measures and that there could be a “ripple effect”.
“We see South Asia first to get that brunt, that moves to South-East Asia, North-East Asia, and then more so into Europe as we get into April,” Sawan said, according to London’s Daily Telegraph.
“So we are trying to work with governments to alert them to the levers they may need to pull – including demand‑side measures, what they need to do around storage, what they need to do around purchasing stock and so on and so forth,” the Shell boss said.
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