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Original poster

Fuel shortages in Scotland and North of England due to Grangemouth strike?

71 replies

Upwind · 20/04/2008 14:39

business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/industrials/article3779485.ece

Do es anyone know if this is a scare or a real problem? A stupid question, but if Grangemouth only provides 10% of UK fuel won't more fuel be brought north to replace it?

Will starting it up again be high risk?

OP posts:
IneedacleanerIamalazyslattern · 20/04/2008 23:34

In my area the panic buying started today and by tea time some of the pumps were empty. That is where the worst of the fuel shortages are probably going to come from.
Can you imagine the price rises that would probably occur from bringing it north?

WendyWeber · 20/04/2008 23:38

I think it's both, isn't it? There is a real problem, but it would be OK if not stirred up and blown into a panic-buying story.

I read somewhere today that the UK has 70 days of reserves all the time - and this isn't the only refinery, is it?

(What I want to know is why the price per litre goes up 2p every time you turn round - diesel is £1.20 here now - why???)

IneedacleanerIamalazyslattern · 20/04/2008 23:57

It probably is. Yes there probably will be shortages but they are going to be made worse by people filling their cars to the neck over the next day or 2 and when the refinery is shut and not putting out petrol for those days then the pumps will be dry.
I remember the empty pumps here 8 years ago when the farmers were blocking the gates in protest so it is a real possibility not helped by hysteria.

£1.20 for diesel??? Where are you?

IneedacleanerIamalazyslattern · 20/04/2008 23:57

Mind you think it must be about the same here.

WendyWeber · 21/04/2008 00:14

I'm in rural Lancs. I'm sure it only passed £1.10 a couple of weeks ago!

Crude oil is only a small fraction of the total cost - I used to have a lovely helpful chart but I can't find it - but although oil has gone up, it would have had to nearly double to justify the rise in the last couple of months

1dilemma · 21/04/2008 00:18

I'm in London was really strange there was ABSOLUTELY NO petrol available round here at all over Christmas, I thought I'd fill up on the way home from work on Christmas Eve 2 collegues called in sick it was a Mondey remember so I was a bit late 7pm and after passing about 9 stations I realised I wasn't going to fill up.
Thankfully we weren't going far but it took days for petrol stations to have fuel.

Just imagine what it's going to be like for our children when there's no petrol left!!!

Sorry it just really made me think at Christmas.

It's about 115 here for diesel and 109 for unleaded, (was 96p just before Christmas) good job inflation is only at 2.5% otherwise with our measly 2% payrise things would be getting a bit tight!

1dilemma · 21/04/2008 00:19

Maybe I should just get off your thread sorry

WendyWeber · 21/04/2008 00:26

No, don't go, this is what MN threads do! I understand exactly what you mean about when it runs out...

(Of course it wouldn't run out as fast if America used less and paid the same as we do...)

I just found a brilliant site - it has monthly fuel prices going back to 2000 (I daren't look) - aa motoring advice

1dilemma · 21/04/2008 00:38

I think it's just going to keep going up, once people realise they can charge 110% why go back to 100% of the price then it will be 115% of the price in was in Jan and on it goes.
I said to dh will it be £2 a litre by the end of the year?

gscrym · 21/04/2008 05:51

I have a number of friends who work at that very refinery. They have started to shut down as it's a safety issue. They're not allowed to just close due to the material they ghave there. If the strike does go ahead, the plants (and it's a huge factory) will have to go through start-up procedures to ensure everything goes safely. It can take a long time to get the plants up and running and producing in spec material. The unions are saying Ineos are scaremongering and Ineos says the unions aren't prepared to negotiate.

Due to the number of tankers that come out of that place on a daily basis, I would imagine it will have an effect. Panic buying won't help. There are apparently 70 days fuel reserves in the country at the moment so it might be okay.

gscrym · 21/04/2008 05:54

Also, we're 116.9 for a litre of diesel here and the petrol station is about 500yrds away from the refinery.

Original poster
Upwind · 21/04/2008 07:00

They say this could even mean black outs in parts of London because Grangemouth produces electricity.

OP posts:
rainbowface · 21/04/2008 10:44

Grangemouth doesnt produce electricity.

clayre · 21/04/2008 10:48

dp is working there at the moment and he says they have started to shut the plant down but doesnt think its going to be near as bad as the news is saying

gscrym · 21/04/2008 16:03

Grangemouth does produce electricity. Ineos own their own power plant. It's massive and it can produce more than is required for the site. As a result, they put (not sure if they sell) power back into the national grid.

One of my friends agrees with Clayres DH. There's a meeting tonight and the staff are being contacted with further proposals.

clayre · 21/04/2008 16:52

dp is more worried about losing his bonus if he cant get in on sunday and monday, he doesnt work for the company he's a contracter and if the strike goes ahead he'll have to turn up and sit in the canteen for 2 days doing nothing!!

clayre · 21/04/2008 18:46

Garages in Dundee are already out o fuel

gscrym · 21/04/2008 19:36

Asda in Grangemouth is out as well.

Kevlarhead · 21/04/2008 23:36

I reckon part of this is Ineos playing up the potential chaos aspect; obviously if political pressure could be brought to bear on the workforce to make them shut up and go back to work, that would make life easier for them.

LessThanImpressed · 22/04/2008 14:33

I filled up in Dundee (Kingsway Tesco) yesterday at 15.30ish. Thank God I did it then! Any more info re Dundee clayre?

nervousal · 22/04/2008 14:55

NHS in Tayside are putting emergency fuel plans into place.

My2Weegirls · 22/04/2008 15:03

i don't think the media help any with their 'panic at the pumps' headlines.

nervousal - think all nhs are working out their fuel priorities.

i couldn't believe the queues at tesco and bp garages on sun.

LessThanImpressed · 22/04/2008 15:18

Agree about the media - they do this every time. Not helpful!

Smug dh is cycling to work every day this week - pah!

bogwobbit · 22/04/2008 15:38

Think it's a bit of both too - genuine fuel shortages and panic buying. We managed to fill up on Saturday night but that was what we would have done anyway - fuel tank was practically empty and there were no problems then. But I think Sunday and yesterday were different. We drove from near Grangemouth to Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon and saw loads of tankers when usually on a Sunday you see very few and a friend of mine who got petrol in Dundee in Monday said that she heard the woman at the till at Tesco's petrol station tell a collegue who was just starting that they had sold 1000 litres in an hour
Did anyone see the women in the Scottish news last night btw, one of them was wanting to stock up on cannisters of fuel just in case....silly mare

LessThanImpressed · 22/04/2008 15:51

Mmmm... Nice bonfire down at her place then!

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