Bloomberg reports that measures aimed at protecting consumers from price increases caused by war in the Middle East have triggered a rush of demand and emptied gas station tanks.
According to France’s energy ministry, about 900 gas stations were left without at least one type of fuel. About 700 of them belong to TotalEnergies.
The shortage affected 10% of the country’s gas stations
The authorities emphasize that we are not talking about a fuel shortage in the country. According to Minister-Delegate for Energy Maud Brejon, the problem is logistical in nature and has affected less than 10% of all gas stations in the country.
“The vast majority of the shortages are due to the fact that the price ceiling introduced by TotalEnergies provoked a frenzy among motorists who started filling up full tanks en masse,” she said.
Petrol station networks confirmed the disruptions
TotalEnergies itself confirmed a sharp increase in traffic at its gas stations after the price caps were announced in mid-March. The company acknowledged that a number of stations had experienced disruptions and said it was working hard to replenish stocks.
At the same time, the authorities remind that France has significant strategic oil reserves – about 100 million barrels. In addition, the country has not fully used its quota of 14.5 million barrels under the International Energy Agency program to release 400 million barrels of oil to the world market.
