Oil giant BP has had to 'temporarily close' some sites and is reducing its deliveries of petrol and diesel to forecourts due to the ongoing shortage of lorry drivers.
BP told the government in a meeting last Thursday that the company was losing the ability to transport fuel from refineries to its network of forecourts.
Hanna Hofer, BP's head of UK retail, said it was important the government understood the “urgency of the situation”, which she described as “bad, very bad”.
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According to ITV News, Ms Hofer said BP had “two-thirds of normal forecourt stock levels required for smooth operations” and the level is “declining rapidly”.
It's not yet been made clear how soon deliveries will be restricted, but fuel will not be restocked for one and a half days a week "very soon".
According to reports, motorways will be prioritised and restocked as normal.
BP does not employ HGV drivers directly, but outsources to independent haulier Hoyer.
The HGV sector has been struggling with recruitment in recent months with a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit reducing the number of available drivers.
Other factors affecting the shortage include test centres being shut and HGV drivers from the EU returning home during the pandemic.
The issue has already hit supermarkets, with shelves half full and grocers forced to increase salaries and introduce signing on bonuses to fill gaps.
Waste collection services have also been affected, with some councils cancelling bin collections as drivers have taken more lucrative jobs elsewhere.
Calls from Morrisons and Ocado for the Government to add HGV drivers to its skills shortage jobs list, to allow EU workers to fill the shortfall, were investigated but not implemented following pressure from the Home Office.
BP is said to have asked the Government for similar support temporarily.
It has approximately 45 drivers coming through in training but is experiencing high rates of attrition, according to ITV News.
In the week beginning September 6, 10 drivers joined and six left, according to reports from BP.
The company hopes the fuel shortages will be temporary and can be rebuilt in October.
BP said in a statement: “We are experiencing fuel supply issues at some of our retail sites in the UK and unfortunately have therefore seen a handful of sites temporarily close due to a lack of both unleaded and diesel grades.
“These have been caused by delays in the supply chain, which has been impacted by industry-wide driver shortages across the UK, and we are working hard to address this issue.
“We continue to work with our haulier supplier to minimise disruption and to ensure efficient and effective deliveries to serve our customers. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
