The lines to refuel are getting longer. Not less than 15% of French service stations were affected by a lack of one or more fuels, Friday, October 7, according to a figure cited by several ministers. Two factors are involved in these supply problems: the TotalEnergies brand is a victim of the success of a discount at the pump – from 20 euro cents per liter – and is facing a strike at its refineries and fuel depots, several of which are located in the Hauts-de-France region, particularly affected by shortages.
The Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune, announced on LCI on Friday that tanker trucks would be exceptionally authorized to circulate on Sundays and that thea France could release “any further” of strategic stocks to calm the situation. What are these reserves? Where are they? Are they sufficient? Response elements.
Who manages the French strategic oil reserves?
Since 1928, French law has required three months of oil stocks to be permanently available. The international organizations (European Union, International Energy Agency), to which France then joined, adopted the same type of precautions, explains The Energy Review. In France, these reserves are mainly managed by the Public limited company for the management of security stocks (Sagess), created in 1988, but remains controlled by the State, via the Professional Committee for Strategic Petroleum Stocks (CPSSP), which brings together private and public players.
These reserves are significant because the oil consumed in France, supplied by eight refineries, is almost entirely imported. In total, 18 million tons of fuel and oil are stored in the territory, which therefore corresponds to three months of consumption.
Where are they located in the territory ?
According to the 2018 figures communicated on the Sagess website, these reserves are spread over 89 storage sites: 80 commercial depots, the eight refineries and the Manosque site (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), made up of 30 underground salt cavities. As the Ministry of Energy Transition stated in June in a press release devoted to the oil chain, “the distribution of storage capacities on the metropolitan territory is not homogeneous” and “the Normandy and Paca regions alone represent 48% of national storage capacity”.
France has already used its strategic oil stock on several occasions. In 2016, she had used the equivalent of three days of reserves, at the height of a social protest which had caused a major blockage of French refineries, recalls France 24.
What stocks have been used so far?
To compensate for the shutdown of one of the four depots supplying the Hauts-de-France service stations, the authorities have raised strategic stocks present in the three other active depots in the region, explains in a press release the northern prefecture. “The next supplies and the availability of strategic stocks should ease the situation for the coming days”she assures.
“It is not a situation of fuel shortage, but of distribution difficulties, mainly in diesel, heavily used for the benefit of economic activities”, specifies the prefecture. Oil operators were asked to “privileging the distribution of fuel to the economic sectors (road transport, agriculture, fishing) and passenger transport”. Motorists are called upon to exercise “citizenship” and theThe storage of fuel with jerrycans or drums is prohibited.
In the event of deterioration of the situation, the prefect “will make requisitions aimed at imposing by prefectural decree on certain petrol stations, hitherto open to the general public, to supply fuel only to priority vehicles (security forces, emergency services, health, etc.)”.
Is this sufficient to deal with supply problems?
Xavier Bertrand, LR president of the Hauts-de-France region, lamented Thursday that the government has not released strategic fuel stocks “on a national level”. “With us, there are 32% of the stations” who have supply problems, in particular “because a lot of foreigners come to fill up”he said on franceinfo, pleading for “the requisition or the threat of requisition to release the stocks”. Xavier Bertrand also expressed alarm at the situation in a letter to the executive: “I call on the government to quickly remedy this situation so that essential public services, such as school and road transport, can circulate.”
Along with strategic stocks, the government resorts to imports. The Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, highlighted the reinforcement of “oil supplies from Belgium”. “From next week, it will be better, the time that the fuel arrives in particular from the Benelux [Belgique, Pays-Bas et Luxembourg]“confirmed Friday on franceinfo Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate for Trade. “We are not in shortage, since we have plans B which are the import of products”which was “reinforced”supported by AFP Francis Pousse, president of service stations and new energies within the trade union Mobiliance.