Two-day strike at Grangemouth oil refinery begins
Sunday, 27 Apr 2008 18:35
The government has said teh refinery closure will not result in fuel shortages
A two-day strike at Scotland's only oil refinery has begun as the plant workers' union and refinery owners failed to solve a pensions dispute.
Only unpaid safety staff will be present at the refinery, resulting in production grinding to a halt at the plant and oil company BP shutting down the Forties oil pipeline which provides 30 per cent of the UK's daily oil requirement.
The impact of the closure on the UK economy is said to be about £50 million a day, according to industry body Oil and Gas UK.
A total of 1,200 staff at the Grangemouth oil refinery walked out of the facility this morning and held a demonstration outside the refinery.
The dispute between the Unite union representing refinery workers and plant operators Ineos revolves around the decision to reform the company's pensions from August 1st.
On Thursday trade secretary John Hutton told the House of Commons increased imports from Europe would counter the effect of the refinery's closure and would ensure that no shortages took place.
The AA has warned motorists not to panic buy as there is plenty of fuel available. A spokesman for the company said: "There is absolutely no reason for the fuel to run out. When the oil refinery in Essex went on fire last year, the industry was able to maintain supply.
"Where we do get into problems is when people do panic buy, and we have seen some areas where people have gone mad."
The AA said panic-buying could push fuel prices up as petrol stations, keen to avoid supplies running out due to a surge in demand, increase their prices to deter motorists from buying.
"I would not call this profiteering, I would call this defending their stocks," the spokesman added.
It also advised people to bear in mind that queuing up to buy petrol will waste money in itself and it would be better to try other stations first.
Fuel prices are also likely to go up in Scotland as a result of the strike because retailers will be forced to import from elsewhere. The refinery processes about 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day and supplies most of Scotland's demand for fuel.