"The oil price is a purely political price" - Ludwig Triebenbacher on the fear of an oil crisis

Created: 06/22/2022, 11:00 am

By: Felicitas Bogner

The Benediktbeur businessman Ludwig Triebenbacher in front of the oil tanks in Antdorf.

a © arp

In an interview with our newspaper, the Benediktbeur businessman Ludwig Triebenbacher talks about the fear of an oil crisis in the fall.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen

– Consumer prices are climbing to unimagined heights.

The inflation rate, which is now over 8 percent, puts many in a state of shock.

The biggest driver of price increases are energy costs.

Even if these have leveled off somewhat compared to the first few weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine, they are still at an extremely high level.

Looking ahead to fall, many get stomachaches when it comes time to fill up the oil tanks.

Benediktbeuerer Ludwig Triebenbenbacher, Managing Director of Byenergie based in Benediktbeuern and Antdorf (Weilheim-Schongau district), explains the current situation from his vantage point and gives tips on filling up with oil.

Mr Triebenbacher, how are your customers currently dealing with the high oil prices?

That is different.

Since the oil price was very low in 2019 and 2020, many filled up and have still made ends meet.

Others who had to fill up only took a little when the price was so high.

That was and is our recommendation.

Given the high prices, we advised everyone against having the tanks completely filled.

Many quarters are predicting an oil crisis for the autumn.

Do you see that as realistic?

As for the price, you can't be sure.

Everything depends on the developments in Ukraine.

Should the war come to an end, which would be desirable in many respects, oil prices are certain to fall sharply within a few days.

The same can also happen with a ceasefire.

But nobody can know that.

But it is clear that the current oil price has nothing to do with demand, but is a purely political price.

Is it also possible that the price will continue to rise in the fall?

Of course, that cannot be ruled out either.

The question is, how much worse than now can it get?

The war is on, and the prices are correspondingly insanely high.

Ludwig Triebenbacher: "You can always get oil somehow"

Apart from the price - could there also be a supply shortage and delivery bottlenecks?

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no

We too can easily get oil from the refineries.

Our warehouses are all full and the delivery time is a maximum of two weeks - everything is totally normal there.

You can always get oil somehow.

Germany is more dependent on gas.

By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Bad Tölz newsletter.

What tip can you give for filling up with heating oil in the current situation?

I wouldn't fill up at the current price.

But keep your feet still.

If you really need something, you should fill up with enough fuel to get you through the winter and keep watching the prices.

That's how I do it privately, by the way.

Problem: supply of pellets

In addition to oil and diesel, they also supply pellets.

What is the situation there?

The supply situation is more difficult right now.

Because there is a state subsidy of up to 45 percent for pellet heating systems, many have converted.

The current energy prices are driving this forward again.

But these masses of pellets do not exist.

Due to the high demand, the price has doubled within a year and the delivery times have increased drastically.

How is the energy price crisis actually affecting your business?

We don't get anything from the high prices.

On the contrary, when the price is low, you're more likely to have a little room for a profit margin than you have now.

But because gas, for example, is becoming less and less attractive, many people turn to oil and pellets because you can buy them in advance.

We also now have a few large companies as customers who are panicking about a power shortage and sign contracts that we will supply them with aggregates in this case.

You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.