France is not currently experiencing any “difficulty” in supplying airlines with kerosene but could release part of its strategic stocks in the event of “volume problems”, the government spokesperson indicated this Sunday, April 19, 2026.
“There is no shortage as we speak” for road fuels, assured Maud Bregeon, government spokesperson and Minister for Energy, on BFMTV.
When asked about kerosene, she felt that there was “more tension” even if “as we speak, there is no difficulty.”
What stocks?
“I remind you that France has strategic stocks, around a hundred days of fuel availability that we could have to release if we had volume problems”she added.
“And moreover, these strategic stocks are initially there to overcome volume problems and not price problems,” observed Maud Bregeon.
Asia in particular, and Europe to a lesser extent, are very dependent on oil and refineries in the Middle East for their supplies. Europe usually imports half of its jet fuel from the Gulf countries.
Towards a shortage?
However, since the start of the war between the United States and Iran at the end of February, the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of world hydrocarbon production normally passes, has been blocked by Tehran.
In Brussels, European Commissioner Dan Jorgensen estimated that the EU “was approaching very quickly” of a potential supply crisis, with the risk of a summer marked by “more expensive plane tickets and cancellations”.
The global professional organization of airlines, Iata, on Friday called on the various regulatory authorities to coordinate and be transparent in the event of a “rationing” kerosene would prove necessary, particularly in Europe.
Leave a Reply