Many countries on the continent are set to end imports of thesel from Russia, which provides 60% of Europe's import requirements, by the end of the year. However, Europe is currendy dealing with low inventories of the fuel because the market is in a strong backwardation with the six-month spread for European thesel futures recendy assessed at positive-$600/mt ($89.55/bbl), making storing the fuel uneconomical. The European thesel market is also tight due to logistical issues in transporting the fuel along the Rhine River, which has led to vessel loadings falling by three quarters from normal volumes. UK-based consultancy Facts Global Energy reported that, in 2021, Germany imported 240K b/d of refined products via the Rhine River, which accounted for 10% of domestic demand. In addition, there have been refinery outages in Austria.
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