Panic Buying Of Gasoline Begins In Scotland On Threat Of Possible Refinery Strike - Scotsman

[hatrack]

MOTORISTS laid siege to Scotland's forecourts yesterday, stockpiling against a feared fuel shortage as the country's only oil refinery continued a phased shutdown in the face of strike action. With ministers warning against panic, a snapshot survey of garages by The Scotsman found 5am queues at the pumps, sales increases of up to 50 per cent and prices already on the rise. At least one petrol station ran out of fuel completely.

The chaos came as pension negotiations between unions and management at the Grangemouth refinery appeared to break down completely. The owner, Ineos, claimed Unite officials had refused to engage in talks – but the union insisted it was happy to do so at any time.

Alex Salmond, the First Minister, urged both parties to get round the table, and the UK and Scottish governments were working on contingency plans.

EDIT

Staff also noticed the panic. Mary Fraser, an attendant at the South Inch Filling Station in Perth, said business had been brisk, with customers who usually only bought £10 to £20 of fuel filling right up. One garage worker on the south side of Glasgow said there had been queues from about 5am yesterday, while the Asda forecourt in Grangemouth – in the shadow of the refinery – ran out of fuel altogether. Andrew Taylor, a supervisor at the Shell petrol station in Kerse Road, Stirling, said it had sold about 50 per cent more fuel that would have been usual for a typical Sunday.

EDIT

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/-The-fuel-panic-begins.4001427.jp

[Journeyman]

1. Ah, the return of the "he stored a 50 gallon drum of gas in his closet" stories. . .

A staple of the 1970s, these stories were usually accompanied by film footage of demolished apartments and incinerated cars.

"He thought it a good idea to store extra fuel in plastic bags in the trunk of his car. It had some merit, too, until he was rear-ended."