The UK is currently in the middle of a fuel crisis, with a serious lack of delivery and truck drivers and increasingly desperate demands for petrol. The situation has lead to thousands of people struggling to get fuel.
Panic-buyers fighting at petrol stations, overwhelmed police officers, and petrol stations limiting their pumps are now prompting a serious debate regarding Brexit, Covid-19, and the government’s response.
A misconception regarding a shortage of petrol is spreading, when in reality, the problem is not prompted by an actual petrol shortage, but rather by a lack of drivers transporting the fuel from terminals to forecourts.
Since mid-September, petrol companies, such BP, have warned that their stations were to “temporarily” be closed. This was followed by fright-response from members of the public, and petrol stations setting a £30 fuel limit to prevent “greedy” hoarders.
On September 26, 90 per cent of independent service stations had run dry, before drivers were warned they would be breaking the law by stockpiling petrol the following day.
As of September 29, approximately 800 petrol stations are counted to be out of stock of at least one type of fuel.
When will the fuel crisis end?
A joint statement issued by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, leading suppliers, including BP, Esso and Shell read:“There is plenty of fuel at UK refineries and terminals, and as an industry we are working closely with the Government to help ensure fuel is available to be delivered to stations across the country,”
“As many cars are now holding more fuel than usual, we expect that demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days, easing pressures on fuel station forecourts.
“We would encourage everyone to buy fuel as they usually would.”
However, on September 28, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted the crisis was "stabilising" but still warned that wider supply disruption could last beyond Christmas.
The Petrol Retailers Association claimed that they had observed demands for fuel dropping.
They told the BBC that there was currently a 40% increase in demand compared to usual levels, compared to 400% over the weekend.
BP has reportedly admitted to being “hopeful” fuel stocks at forecourts will stabilise shortly and start to rebuild at some point in October.
What is the government doing?
As a result of the alarming absence of transport professionals, the PM has agreed to temporarily loosen immigration rules so foreign HGV drivers can work in the UK to help with the crisis.
Ministers have also introduced emergency plans consisting of bringing soldiers in to drive tankers to forecourts suffering supply issues.
Nevertheless, it has been reported that it could take up to three weeks for soldiers to be fully mobilised, with the first on the roads within a week.
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