Countless motorists across the UK are complaining of petrol stations running out of fuel - but there is no fuel crisis in the UK. The issue isn't that there isn't enough petrol or diesel, it's simply that many deliveries of petrol and diesel are being blocked from arriving at local petrol stations.
In a protest against the UK government about climate change and fossil fuels, two major UK campaign groups have decided to block the transport of petrol across the UK - and in some towns and cities in the UK, they've been able to do this. As the i newspaper reports, Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion announced they intended to disrupt fuel supplies to London and the South East of England earlier this month, but their protests have actually caused issues much further afield.
Among the areas most affected by the protests, several pumps have run out of petrol in Birmingham, our sister site BirminghamLive reports. Protesters have blockaded oil terminals and refineries across the city, stopping petrol and diesel from being able to travel to petrol forecourts across Birmingham, the Black Country, Worcestershire and Staffordshire. Multiple petrol stations have been forced to put up signs warning drivers that they have no diesel - whilst some have had to shut completely because they've run out of fuel and a much-needed delivery hasn't been able to get them.
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Fuel supplies have also been affected in Weymouth in Dorset and in Kidlington in Oxfordshire, both of which saw multiple petrol stations forced to close over the week due to running out of fuel, whilst on April 6, Sainsbury's supermarket confirmed issues in its petrol supply at Harlow in Essex. Responding to a customer's complaint on social media, Sainsbury's said: "We’re experiencing high demand for fuel and some pumps at our Harlow petrol filling station are temporarily closed. We’ll reopen the pumps again as soon as possible and we’re sorry for the inconvenience this may cause."
And in Portsmouth, one concerned shopper has taken to social media today to say that an Asda petrol station is closed whilst a Morrisons petrol station has no unleaded petrol, but does have a huge queue. Sharing a photo of queuing cars, Liz Williams MBE said: "What's going on with the fuel supply? Asda petrol station in Portsmouth shut. Morrisons Horndean no unleaded and huge queue."
Has your local petrol station been affected by the protests? Have deliveries not arrived? Let us know, email: molly.dowrick@walesonline.co.uk
Is there a fuel crisis at the moment?
In the UK, there is no fuel shortage. Issues are arising due to campaign groups blocking petrol from being transported to petrol stations - so queues have formed at some petrol stations, and some have run out of fuel, as they have not been able to have their usual regular deliveries.
There have been fuel shortages reported abroad, however. On April 2 to 3, 2022, fuel shortages were reported in Kenya due to delays in the Kenyan Government paying 13 billion shillings (equivalent to $113 million/£86 million) to oil-marketing companies to stop them from putting prices up. The delay in the payment caused thousands of people to flock to their nearest fuel-station and panic-buy, as reported by Bloomberg.
What happened during the last fuel crisis?
The last fuel crisis in the UK was last autumn and occurred after BP announced it had a shortage of tanker drivers and would struggle to fulfil some deliveries. Their announcement caused widespread panic-buying at petrol stations. This caused long tailbacks and traffic issues - which were reported by news sites due to the traffic issues on the road - which inadvertently led to further panic-buying as people worried why their friends, family members of neighbours had all flocked to petrol stations to stock up.
Are we still getting our petrol from Russia?
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, there have been changes to the UK's import of petrol from Russia. Figures from the UK government shared by the Independent newspaper last month revealed that 18% of the UK's diesel comes from Russia - so understandably phasing this supply out could take some time.
Back in March, the UK Government's business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the UK would begin to phase-out imports of Russian oil and find alternative supplies - but confirmed this would not be immediate. A statement from the UK Government explained: "The phasing out of imports will not be immediate, but instead allows the UK more than enough time to adjust supply chains, supporting industry and consumers. The government will work with companies through a new Taskforce on Oil to support them to make use of this period in finding alternative supplies.
"The UK is working closely with the US, the EU and other partners to end our dependence on Russian hydrocarbons in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, recognising the different circumstances and transition timelines. The import of Russian oil makes up 44% of Russian exports and 17% of federal government revenue through taxation – this move steps up the international pressure on Russia’s economy. In a competitive global market for oil and petroleum products, demand can be met by alternative suppliers. We will work closely with international partners to ensure alternative supplies of fuel products."
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