Motorists urged not to panic over petrol
Date: 24/04/2008 12:00:00
Drivers should not panic buy extra petrol as a result of concerns over shortages, according to the government.
Secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform John Hutton has called on motorists to buy petrol as normal, despite the threat of a strike at a major oil refinery in Scotland.
Rising oil prices have helped to push the price of unleaded petrol to nearly £5 a gallon and it is feared that possible shortages could lead to costs increasing further. With the impending strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery, there are worries that petrol production could slow over the weekend.
However, Mr Hutton said the government has plans in place to deal with the strike if it goes ahead and that drivers should not be concerned.
“Everyone can help in this by just buying fuel as normal - buying extra causes problems in the system which would otherwise not exist,” he commented.
The refinery supplies petrol to Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.
Meanwhile, one filling station in Scotland dropped the price of diesel from £1.45 a litre to £1.30 after garages were called upon to refrain from profiteering from fuel shortage fears, the Press Association reports.