More panic buying expected as British refinery strike continues
GRANGEMOUTH, Scotland (AFP) — More panic-buying of petrol was expected in Britain Monday, the second day of a 48-hour strike at a major refinery that has forced the country to shut down a North Sea pipeline.
The walk-out by around 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery, west of Edinburgh, forced the neighbouring Forties pipeline, which supplies 40 percent of Britain's oil and gas, to close down, operator BP said.
Offshore energy industry body Oil and Gas UK has estimated that the pipeline closure will cost the British economy 50 million pounds (65 million euros, 100 million dollars) per day in lost production.
It has urged politicians to intervene in the dispute over a pensions row.
Business Secretary John Hutton said the government in London had made "every effort" to prevent the action taking place, particularly the closure of the pipeline.
"What the government's responsibility is, is not to take sides in this dispute," he told BBC television.
"I think it's (the strike) not justifiable, I think we're bringing into this parties who are innocent bystanders."
The pipeline brings more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil ashore every day and supplies Britain and international markets. It cannot function without power and steam from Grangemouth.
Staff and families held a demonstration Sunday outside the refinery, which experts have said could take weeks to get back to full operational capacity.
Grangemouth oil workers have also taken out advertisements in Scottish newspapers to explain their position to the public in a bid to appeal for support.
Despite assurances from the government that sufficient supplies were being shipped in, many motorists, particularly in Scotland and northern England, rushed to pumps to stock up on Sunday.
Some petrol stations were forced to introduce rationing or raise prices while others ran dry.
The Scottish government is shipping around 65,000 tonnes of fuel -- mostly diesel -- in from Europe to bolster supplies during the action, which should be enough to last about 10 days.
Alan Duncan, the Conservative industry spokesman, warned that the closure would hit world oil prices.
"The interdependence of our North Sea oil production and the refinery... has implications for global oil prices," he told Sky News television.
"So world oil prices have gone up and we're going to see local oil prices and petrol prices going up."
On Friday in London, Brent North Sea crude for June rose two dollars to 116.34 a barrel after earlier crossing the key 117 dollar mark.
Some 70 oil fields feed into the Forties pipeline. Around two-thirds of oil from it is immediately exported.
It is the first time in more than 70 years that a British refinery has been shut down due to a strike.
The dispute comes at an awkward time for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ahead of local elections on Thursday in which opinion polls suggest his Labour Party could struggle.
