Support or hindrance to action? Spirit fuel blends in the Polish oil industry in the interwar period

Abstract

The situation of the Polish oil industry after independence was difficult. Cut off from pre-war markets, the weakness of the internal market and increasing competition in external markets resulted in low profitability and a successive decline in production volumes. Competition also became a new threat from the statebacked distillery industry, which was pushing the concept of marketing fuel blends containing spirits. Their entry into the market, despite the objections of oil companies, meant that some gasoline had to be replaced with spirits and their ability to sell on the domestic market was limited. The negative effects of this were consistently raised by oil industry representatives. It wasn't until an improvement in the economy in the second half of the 1930s that a gradual change in the perception of spirit propelled blends appeared. Under conditions of growing domestic demand with relatively constant production volumes, a significant reduction in fuel exports became possible, and spirits were able to become a desirable additive to diesel blends, as evidenced by the increase in their purchases by oil companies. Keywords: Second Republic, petroleum industry, spirit propellants, distillery industry.