Drivers in some parts of the UK have been queuing at petrol station after petrol station this week, as they desperately try to find somewhere they can fill up. Whilst there's no fuel crisis in the UK - there is plenty of petrol and diesel in the country - the issue is that deliveries of fuel are being blocked from travelling between oil refineries and depots to local petrol stations.
This is because two major UK campaign groups have decided to stop the transport of petrol across the UK, in a protest against the UK government over climate change and fossil fuels. Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion announced they intended to disrupt fuel supplies to London and the South East of England on April 1, but their protests have continued until now and have had a knock-on effect to other parts of the UK.
Whilst some parts of the UK have seen issues with the delivery of both petrol and diesel, some drivers say diesel is running out before petrol at fuel stations. This is thought to be because diesel supplies were already tight, and now the issue is exacerbated by the reduced number of deliveries due to the environmental protests.
Read more: Why petrol stations in the UK are running out of fuel despite there being no shortage
According to international news blog TuneNews, this is because global stocks of diesel and other fuels have fallen to the "lowest seasonal level since 2008" due to refineries having to close during the pandemic and the consequent increase in demand ever since.
Among the places most affected by issues in petrol and diesel being delivered to fuel stations, several Birmingham petrol stations have completely run out of fuel, our sister site BirminghamLive reports. Protesters have blockaded oil terminals and refineries across the Midlands which has affected supplies to petrol forecourts across Birmingham, the Black Country, Worcestershire and Staffordshire.
There have also been issues with petrol and diesel supplies at petrol stations in Abergavenny and Bridgend in Wales, and in Redditch in Worcestershire, Portsmouth in Hampshire, Gravesend in Kent, Dereham in Norfolk, Weymouth in Dorset and Kidlington in Oxfordshire, to list a few affected towns and cities.
"For the last couple of weeks there has been a shortage of diesel in Bridgend: BP, Sainsburys, Tesco both sites and some independent sites," said Bridgend resident Roger Thomas. "There were huge queues yesterday at our local Tesco, Morrisons and BP garages and shortly after delivery the pumps were empty again," added Julie Debney from Norfolk.
Julie, a nurse, added that she's particularly concerned nurses and medics will struggle to visit patients in the community if they can't fill up on petrol. "I understand the need to campaign about increasing costs but it's affecting too many people," she said. "I'm a community health nurse, many of my patients are struggling to cope with living with Covid and the after-effects and this is having a huge impact.
"Lots of my colleagues have run out of petrol, l have about 100 miles of fuel left! This means unless I can fill up over the weekend [April 9 - 10] l won't be able to see my patients - it's getting ridiculous."
The issues obtaining fuel are made even more challenging by the fact fuel now costs more than previously. In March, motorists were hit by the highest monthly spike in fuel prices on record - despite a cut in fuel duty. The RAC said the average cost of a litre of diesel at UK petrol stations increased by 22.1p, to around 177.3p, compared to the month before, as reported by National World.
The British breakdown cover and motor insurance company reportedly said the rise in fuel prices had been caused by increased wholesale costs due to the war in Ukraine. And prices would have been even higher if not for the UK Government's temporary cut to fuel duty, which has decreased the fuel duty on petrol and diesel across the UK by 5 pence per litre and is in place until March, 2023.
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