Paying over 10 lei (about 2 Euros) for a liter of gasoline was painful enough – and the actual reality here in Romania.
But pulling up to the pump only to find it completely dry? That is a new reality hitting Romanian drivers right now.
Over 60 gas stations across the country just ran out of diesel overnight. We kept hearing about the looming fuel crisis caused by the Iran war, but it seemed a bit far-fetched. Until now.
A Midnight Scare at the Pump
While I haven’t personally experienced this (I don’t drive too much though, so I don’t visit the pumps that often), I just saw a post on Facebook from a friend of mine – one that I trust – saying this (I have translated his Romanian post in English):
12:05 AM at a Petrom gas station in Jilava. It has about 7 or 8 pumps. I pull up next to one, get ready to step out, and the pump attendant, who was just getting ready to change the printed prices, tells me: “We are closed until ten past, we are balancing the register and changing the price.”
Me, trying to be a smartass: “It is going down, right?”
The guy looked at me with such pity…
I killed time for 5 minutes, and then the attendant comes back: “Alright, you can pump now. Are you putting in diesel?”
“Yes.”
“Well, whatever is left of it…”
I filled up the tank. Lucky me. I go inside to pay. The lady at the cash register says: “Good thing you managed to get some, because WE ONLY HAVE 30 LITERS LEFT IN THE TANK. AND NOT JUST AT OUR STATION! Hey buddy, go shut down the pumps, just leave two open for diesel! I just talked to the shift manager, he gave the order.”
She looks at me: “If three cars pull up and pump at the same time, none of them will get a full tank, and they will end up cursing at us too…”
Why 60 Gas Stations Went Dry Overnight (The Official Statement)
While a single anecdotal post doesn’t meant that the country is indeed dealing with a fuel shortage, I started to do some digging.
And I found a news article on a Romanian news portal confirming that 60 gas stations were indeed left without diesel.
According to OMV Petrom, the largest fuel provider in Romania, this shortage was caused by their stations having lower prices than the competition. The difference in the cost per liter was just 0.66 lei (about 0.13 Euros or 0.15 USD).
That slight discount meant increased demand, especially when prices in Romania are so high already. The company claims it is this exact increased demand that resulted in “temporary” shortages.
So the official story is that drivers saw a bargain and rushed to fill up their tanks. The logistical supply chain of fuel trucks simply could not keep pace with the sudden surge.
And this could make sense – it’s not the first time something like this has happened (although I never heard of anything like this in the diesel/fuel sector).
But I see this event as a stark warning sign of logistical fragility at the very least – or even of more trouble looming.
Things are not as smooth as some authorities might want us to believe they are, so this event could indeed signal that a broader fuel squeeze is closer than we might think.
While there’s not a lot we can do right now, I highly recommend keeping your tank at least half full at all times, just to be on the safe side. It pays to be prepared, especially when local supply chains prove they can snap under the pressure of a simple discount.
Have you experienced anything like this recently – either in Romania or elsewhere in the world? Do you think a fuel crisis with massive shortages is coming, or we’re going to be OK?
I am a journalist and local expert who has been documenting life in Romania since 2013. Based in Constanta (after living in Bucharest and Drobeta Turnu Severin), I provide up-to-date, on-the-ground advice for expats and travelers. My articles are based on real life experiences and plenty of research – from paying Romanian bills to exploring the wild “Rawmania” countryside.
That is really scary to hear. I think there will be more and more instances like this. The whole world will suffer for what one guy has started. So much uncertainty. It’s a good thing you don’t drive much. The trickle-down effect is real, and I can only hope that this, too, shall pass.
I think that this uncertainty is what makes things worse. Not knowing for sure where things will go makes planning, preparing and reacting a lot more difficult. But there’s always hope – at least that things won’t be as bad as some predict it will be.
It is little solace to countries where few electric cars exist but for those that do there must be many smug electric car drivers around the world right now! Here in Japan, it seems the government is spending $6 billion dollars to keep gasoline prices at $1.06 a liter which is ridiculously low in my opinion. It is estimated that that $6 billion amount will last only two months at most. The Japanese car industry has been dragging its feet on electrifying its cars, preferring to rest on its hybrid “laurels.” My Daihatsu with a 660 cc engine gets pretty good gas mileage but I have pumped up the tires on my bicycle and have done some shopping runs on it already.
Yup, it might be that we’re already running on fumes without knowing. Electric car owners are surely happy, though – at least for now.
Since writing this report, I saw signs of “not available” at my gas station, although not in the past couple of days. But I also read about a gas station in Bucharest that ran out of gasoline, too. Pumping up the bicycle tires seems like the right thing to do!