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What Happens When There’s No Diesel?
While Biden is throwing a small-sized milk-bone to give some financial relief by trying to get banks to wave “junk banking fees,” which may buy another carton of eggs, another crisis is on the doorstep. Yahoo News reports that the US has only 25 more days left of diesel fuel.
25 days of diesel supply left, according to the Energy Information Administration. National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told Bloomberg TV that diesel inventories are “unacceptably low” and “all options are on the table” to bolster supply and reduce prices. However, even as the stockpiles are being drained, the Biden administration seems to be left with very few sustainable options for long-term relief.
Since the world doesn’t really run on Dunkin’, what does this mean and what is being done about it? Let’s equate it to 25 days of cash left in your account, 25 days of needed medicines, 25 days left of food, and … toilet paper? I’m not trying to lessen the seriousness of this news, but if I don’t try to find a tidbit of joking disbelief, I may cry in my last bowl of soup with real meat in it.
So what will happen if there is a major diesel shortage? Is this part of the Green Movement to force needed fuels out of our reach — that make our economy and society function?
That ringing in your ears are alarm bells. This administration is making poor energy policies and the rest of us even poorer. Vote accordingly.
Published in General
Vote accordingly, and stock up on staples.
Anybody know what the normal reserve is in days?
And remember, the trucks that bring the gasoline to gas stations run on diesel.
You’d think our Transportation Secretary would be on the case.
Food and clothing, too. The locomotives which move non-pipeline fuels also run on diesel. This administration is attacking the base of Maslow’s pyramid.
Excellent question. We don’t know if this portends crisis if we don’t know what the usual reserve is.
There is that one quote from that one guy in the OP, but it would be nice to have facts to accompany Mr. Quoted Guy’s opinion.
The only thing I could find in the article was:
Of course, the article fails to say what the current NE reserve is, or much of anything else. The editors should have sent this back to the reporter asking for more details.
But then the article might not have been so alarming.
Been poking around with charts here:
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/PET_STOC_WSTK_DCU_NUS_W.htm
Can’t figger diesel directly, but our TOTAL holdings of crude and petro products including what’s in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are at the lowest since 2005, while our crude oil SPR is at its lowest since 1985.
Relevant article from Transport Topics, which is mainly a trucking-industry publication.
“The U.S. is set to receive at least two ships carrying a total of some 90,000 metric tons of diesel and jet fuel that have been diverted from their original destinations in Europe to the East Coast, as reported by Reuters on October 14. The diesel is arriving from the United Arab Emirates.” https://www.newsweek.com/us-only-has-just-days-diesel-left-before-supply-runs-out-1754851
The story being reported in Newsweek says two ships are being diverted from Europe to US East Coast with diesel?
Prediction: It will be blamed on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and everyone must sacrifice………
Things like this will certainly drive a wedge of resentment right down the Atlantic. “Hang in there Europe! We’re all in this together!” Then we outbid them for the offshore replacements for their missing Russian gas.
And if it’s true that the U.S. blew the pipelines (as Polish MP Radek Sikorsky Tweeted, and then later deleted — perhaps at the request of his wife), then I think that wedge will be nearly impossible to repair.
The short answer? No food . . .
Wow! There it is – he all but said it’s a political and dangerous stunt to have our reserves so low….
I mean, he’s right. But imagine the leverage the Saudis now have over the U.S. since we’re TOO STUPID to increase production here.
We’ve gone from Trump warning Europe about their dangerous energy stupidity to the friggin SAUDIS warning us about our dangerous energy stupidity.
Nicely concisely said.
No diesel? Let them drive electric trucks.
They can solve this problem by releasing more oil from the strategic reserve
(exits whistling)
More details at this link, including a chart showing a 15-year history of diesel supply levels.
Thanks Paul, I was just going to link to that same article.
Thanks for this. Looks like it is indeed a crisis.
Now that I’m reading about heating oil rationing in the Northeast, I’m beginning to wonder if I should do a fill right now. (I usually need two or three every winter. I haven’t done my first yet because my tank has a nice amount leftover from last winter, and I need to get lower before I add the required minimum for a delivery.)
perspective:
90,000 metric tons of diesel converts to approx 645,000 barrels of fuel.
In 2021, the U.S. transportation sector alone consumed 46.82 billion gallons, or 1.11 billion barrels of distillate fuel (essentially diesel fuel) — at an average of about 128 million gallons a day.
So these two ships will provide less than 5 hours worth of fuel for the transportation industry.
LOL We are screwed. It is sad that Newsweek thinks these two ships’ cargo has any significance.
Or toilet paper.
Yes.
I added an additional 250G tank to my property this Summer, primarily for tractor fuel. Sadly, I only put a 100 G in the tractor fuel tank, and had my two heating fuel tanks topped off at the same time. The tractor fuel is about half gone, but the house tanks are still quite full, as we just recently and sparingly started using the heat.
I have to consume more before I can ask for a delivery – because of minimums. I hope that when I need it, it will still be available and that I can afford it.
Yep. That’s where I’m at. Trying to hit it when price is low and supply is adequate.
Time to change your investment strategy….
Buy sweaters.