Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Panic buying starts in Scotland
BRITAIN is set for a fuel crisis as filling stations start to run dry ahead of an oil refinery strike.

Petrol supplies ran low last night ahead of the two-day action set to start tomorrow. Several garages in Scotland were running dry as drivers stocked up.

Others have been forced to ration fuel or close pumps as motorists panic buy.

Up to 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery near Falkirk are set to walk out in a row over pensions. Owners Ineos last night closed the plant ahead of the action.

And BP warned the strike could force them to close a route that supplies 30% of the UK’s oil output. The Forties pipeline relies on electricity and steam from Grangemouth to bring in 700,000 barrels a day from the North Sea.


Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said the pipeline was “crucial” and warned that motorists could be affected.


He said: “I cannot guarantee that every garage forecourt will have petrol. I hope the vast majority of people are sensible about this.”


But it is feared the action could spark a repeat of the 2000 fuel protests.


A Downing Street spokesman said there supplies will last but added: “Increasing demand could potentially cause problems for those who need fuel.”


The Grangemouth dispute has escalated from a bitter row over pensions. Up to 1,200 workers are set to walk out of the giant Scottish oil refinery for 48 hours tomorrow after failing to strike a deal with owners Ineos.

Their Union, Unite, wants the same final salary pension deal for new workers that has been offered to all existing staff.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Looks like i`m gonna be queing when i filll up this morning then, not that I`M panic buying, i just need some.......!

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Hope I dont have to wait too long, im running on fumes anyway (can only ever afford to put between £5 - £10 a week in anyway and this weeks no different)

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

If anyone wants evidence of how today’s society has gone down the me, me, me, me, me road you only have to look at the times when there is a forthcoming shortage of something.

On the news last night it showed motorists filling up and also filling gallon cans. Talk about grabbing as much as you can for yourself and devil take the rest. It was also reported that some garages have upped their price to £1.35 per litre. Hopefully the Scottish motorists will have long memories and boycott those garages when sanity and fuel is restored.

The refinery was closed down before the strike started because of alleged security/safety issues. It was stated that it would be at least five days before full production is resumed once the strikers go back to work.

It was also stated that there was at least 7 days supplies of petrol and diesel available at normal usage.

I smell a rat! There is more to this issue than meets the eye.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

I remember all this happening in 2000. I was pregnant at the time and people kept telling me to fill the car up so we had petrol in the car when I went into labour.

It's all this panic buying that creates these shortages. If people were sensible about it there wouldn't be a shortage.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

if people did not have this insane love affair with the automobile there would not be a problem ... consumers have to look at their driving habits and cut out all the non essential driving that they do ... have people forgotten that the burning of fossil fuels is one of the major factors behind global warming? JB could be right ... there are big smelly rats out there, and most of them are directors of, and major investors in, the oil companies ... I would be prepared to bet a few bucks that when the oil companies release their quarterly statements their public relations departments will be working overtime to explain the embarassingly bloated profits they are making.

Maybe the gas stations should start giving out condoms with every gas purchase ... we are being screwed; so we might as well be safe .....:(

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

And gas at over $2.75 a litre!!!!!!!!! We are paying $1.10 and screaming and hollering at that price.

This may be a silly question; but what happened to all the North Sea oil?

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Spugs enjoying the refinery closed he says its quiet now....

I told you all about this last week but no one listened. In fact they started shutting the refinery down last Friday because of all the safety measures they have to put in place.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

There were no queues at the petrol station on Blackburn Road, when I drove past this afternoon.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

It doesn't make any sense that fuel/petrol prices are going up in the UK , oil is traded in US Dollars on the world market and the US Dollar has collapsed against the UK Pound so the prices you are paying should be coming down not up

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

How very true but 'Rip off Britain' will never alter.
1.08 GBP per litre UK for 95 Unleaded.
1.36 EUR per litre in France (Came through yesterday)
1.14 EUR per litre in Spain (Got some this morning)
The US $ is down against the two currencies.
It is the first time that I have experienced France charging more for fuel than the UK.
Petrol expected to Increase next week due to trouble in Nigeria and it would not surprise me if an increase is also on the cards due to the strike in Scotland?

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Do you really want to know something spug was walking past a petrol station and the price on it was £1.45 a litre!!! When i asked if that was petrol or diesel he said he didnt know but all he did know was that next time he went past it was at £1.25 a litre - they said it was a mistake!!!!

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Oh and spug is dreading em restarting the refinery again....

When it restarts it will be noisy - he had a pair of ear defenders and ear plugs in once when he worked in there when they restarted it after maintenance... and the noise level was a very nice 90 decibels...

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Huge queues at Asdas in blackburn today waiting to fill up:rolleyes:

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Garinda - remember to take the handbrake off and, hey presto, your fuel consumption will reduce dramatically.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Careful pal......very temperamental...will put you on his 'No No' List :dummy2:

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Stupidly busy at Spar on Burnley Rd this morning but according to my well placed source there is 40 days worth of fuel stashed at any given time.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

No worries; been on that for at least five years.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

I wonder why? fuel supplies for Lancashire come from Merseyside not Grangemouth. Keep a look out for the ones who profit from news - not reality. If the Station that you use for your petrol put up the price for no reason, go to another one.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

40 days supply on hand at your local petrol/gas station ? , or 40 days supply on hand in national stockpiles ? :confused:

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

The likes of Tesco and Asda have the money to buy petrol up front and make a fortune from the flak that hits the fan following any hickup....but what about the local trader who has to full his tanks and run a business on petrol sales - and pay up front for the petrol and the high rate of tax that is also due for payment up front..........he does not stand a chance, and that is why we get a very unstable market.....The public purse gains and GB has more money for his economic mess?

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Spug says:

The spin has already started up there. INEOS says it wants to invest £750m into the refinery to bring it up to date but something which might not be profitable to where pensions are not viable why are they investing this money? Also keep an eye on your gas prices - because about 30% of the gas comes through Grangemouth refinery at Kinneil. They've shut the forties pipeline which brings the oil into Kinneil but gas also comes through Kinneil as well.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

We are experiencing the wroth of high finance.
What can we do about it..........nothing.
Pay what they say...do what they want..and may you burn in hell :dflam:

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

What can I say?

I like that rubbery smell, and besides, driving you around the hills of Lancashire made me nervous.

Nice avatar by the way.

It's brought out a side of me that makes me want to lick the screen.:eek:

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

there are rules at petrol stations.... they have to keep a certian amount in the tanks at all time.. so when they say they are empty they arent really.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

one of those email things that float around in e-space
(and before the whinging starts NO , I do not know who wrote it , and niether do I care . )

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
>
>
>
> Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the
> early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all
> service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder
> the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline
> expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not
> exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the
> temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other
> petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature
> is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have
> temperature compensation at the pumps.
>
>
>
> When you're filling up do not squeeze the
> trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the
> trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle and high. In slow mode you should
> be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created
> while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are
> pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes
> vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground
> storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.
>
>
>
> One of the most important tips is to fill up
> when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the
> more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space.
> Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have
> an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the
> gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service
> stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature
> compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.
>
>
>
> Another reminder, if there is a gasoline
> truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill
> up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being
> delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on
> the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

ian pats lpg tank in his volvo :D

as for teh post above, I've not lauged so much for a while. If petrol evapoarted and vented so quickly every car would stink of the stuff.

Ground temperature doesn't vary that much irrespective of above ground temp. Look at very frosty mornings, if all liqued unedr water froze the whole drainage syetem woud be a stinking blocked up mess.

Re: Strike Sparks Fuel Shortage
 

Petrol does evaporate very quickly. That’s what makes it so volatile. People often state that they have been driving on fumes when they are short of petrol, little realising that is precisely what everyone is doing all the time – full tank or not. By the time that a drop of petrol is squirted into the cylinder it has turned to vapour (fumes) and it is the vapour that explodes when a spark is introduced.

Spill some petrol on your hand and within a few seconds your hand will be cold. That’s because the evaporating liquid draws the heat out of your hand. Did you never do that experiment in science class at school where a Petre dish was filled with water and a small dish filled with petrol was floated on top. Actually we used meths but the principle was exactly the same. As the meths/petrol evaporated it turned the water into ice. The experiment failed if you used say paraffin because it evaporates much more slowly.

Ever heard of permafrost? Where the ground is frozen solid to a depth of a few feet. Not in England of course because it doesn’t get cold enough. But it does on land above the Arctic circle.

It seems to me that you were so intent in trying to ridicule steeljack’s post that all you did is make yourself look stupid with; “Look at very frosty mornings, if all liqued unedr water froze the whole drainage syetem woud be a stinking blocked up mess.”
Liquid under water?