Refinery strike in Scotland pumps oil up to record high
GRANGEMOUTH, Scotland (AFP) — A strike over pensions at a major British oil refinery ran through a second day Monday, causing panic at filling-station pumps and propelling world oil prices to another record high.
The 48-hour walk-out by around 1,200 workers at Grangemouth, west of Scotland's capital Edinburgh, was to end at 6:00 am (0500 GMT) Tuesday, but not before pushing oil prices close to 120 dollars per barrel on Monday.
Despite government assurances of sufficient supplies of fuel, so long as people do not bulk-buy, many motorists in Scotland and northern England have rushed to the pumps to fill up.
Some petrol stations introduced rationing or raised prices. Others ran dry.
The Scottish government was importing around 65,000 tonnes of fuel -- mostly diesel -- from mainland Europe to bolster supplies, which should be enough to last about 10 days.
Three tankers from European ports were already in Scottish waters, with the first unloading its cargo at Aberdeen, northeast Scotland. Five more tankers were due to arrive within two days.
Broxden service station outside Perth in central Scotland has not received its daily fuel delivery since Wednesday.
"Some people are just putting 1.50 or two pounds (three to four dollars, two to 2.50 euros) in because their tanks are already full," manager Ian Niven told the BBC.
"It's pointless, they've probably spent more money running around trying to find somewhere to get fuel."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond in the House of Commons late Monday for about 20 minutes to discuss the situation, a spokesman for Brown confirmed.
Business Secretary John Hutton will meanwhile visit Scotland on Tuesday to speak with fuel industry representatives and retailers.
On the back of the refinery closure, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, jumped to a record high 119.93 dollars a barrel.
The contract later stood at 119.20 dollars, up 68 cents from Friday's close.
The strike has forced British energy giant BP to shut down the refinery's neighbouring Forties pipeline, which supplies 40 percent of Britain's oil and gas.
It brings more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil ashore every day, supplying Britain and international markets. It cannot function without power and steam from Grangemouth.
Refinery workers were no closer to resolving the spat over pensions.
The Unite union has not called any fresh strikes but says operators Ineos need to halt proposed pension changes if talks are to continue.
Unite took out advertisements in Scottish newspapers Monday to explain their position and ask for public support.
"The Grangemouth workers are having to strike to defend their existing pension scheme which, despite the fact it is well-funded and in profit, their hugely rich employer, Ineos, wants to close," said its national officer Phil McNulty.
"We are going back in. What we want to happen is a pause for reflection on where we go on this," he told BBC radio.
"We don't want to go on strike again and we shouldn't be put in a position where we have to."
Ineos chief executive Tom Crotty told the BBC: "We have made concession after concession from our original position to try and keep them negotiating".
The company's founder Jim Ratcliffe, 55, was heckled by striking workers, who booed and jeered as he visited the site for meetings earlier in the day.
Grangemouth could take weeks to get back to full operational capacity.
Britain's offshore energy industry body Oil and Gas UK estimates the pipeline closure will cost the domestic economy 50 million pounds (65 million euros, 100 million dollars) per day in lost production.
It is the first time in more than 70 years that a British refinery has been shut down due to a strike.
Over the past two weeks, oil has crashed through a series of records, sparking international concern. Prices were boosted by the weaker US dollar, supply worries and the OPEC cartel's reluctance to increase output, dealers said.
London's Brent North Sea crude for June rose 66 cents to 117.00 dollars on Monday after striking an all-time high of 117.56 dollars on Friday.
Hundreds of road haulage firms were to protest Tuesday in London against the high price of diesel.
