Jason Burke Sunday September 10, 2000 Dozens of petrol stations across Britain ran out of unleaded fuel yesterday as fears rose that protesters against high prices could cause a nationwide fuel crisis. Panic-buying was reported in Merseyside as motorists filled up their tanks as news of a shortage spread. 'Demand has gone through the roof,' said one major petrol retailer. Shell reported that 30 of its petrol stations in the North-west were expected to be out of unleaded fuel by late last night and BP said five of its stations had already run dry. Supplies in the region have been disrupted by a blockade of Stanlow oil refinery, in Cheshire, by farmers and lorry drivers demanding a cut in fuel taxes. A demonstrator was arrested yesterday after scuffles broke out. The protest has trapped tankers on which 400 Shell and BP petrol stations rely. European finance ministers meeting in France yesterday called on the Opec oil-producing countries to raise production in order to reduce the price of oil. ----------------- The Observer "explains" oil price hikes which it says are only "temporary": Petrol price rises Soaring energy prices are triggering protests in several countries, particularly in France, where truckers' protests threaten to paralyse the country. Julian Glover explains why the cost of filling up a tank has spiralled. Thursday September 7, 2000 What is happening? Drivers are getting restless as petrol prices continue to climb. Nineteen months ago, a litre of unleaded fuel cost British motorists around 63p. Now the �1 litre (or the �4 gallon) is almost upon us - the average price in London is around 90p. That puts the cost of a full tank of petrol well above that of a bottle of good champagne. The price rise has caught the oil companies unawares. Most of their pumps can charge a maximum of 99.9p per litre; new systems will have to be installed if the price rises further. Why has the price gone up? Two reasons. The first is that the cost of crude oil has climbed steeply over the last year. Less than two years ago the oil price had tumbled to just $9.90 a barrel. Now the same quantity costs $31 - partly because Middle-Eastern oil producers have restricted their output and partly because the booming world economy has increased demand. The oil companies have passed this rise on to drivers. But that's not the real reason for rises in the UK, is it? No. The cost of oil makes up only a proportion of the price that British drivers pay for their petrol. Most of the bill is down to tax - and it's tax increases which really seem to have pushed up prices in the last few years. It's all because of something called the "fuel price escalator," brought in by the last Conservative government and kept in place by Labour. This pushes up the tax on petrol ahead of inflation each year - mainly for environmental reasons - although the government finds the extra money it makes comes in handy, too. What are drivers doing about this? Ask any taxi driver and you'll discover that motorists are feeling hard done by. Although last month's "dump the pump" proved a damp squib, protests are picking up in France. First, French fishermen blockaded Channel ports and squeezed concessions from the government. Now, truckers are getting into the act and blockading oil depots and refineries. If they keep up their protests, they could paralyse the country. Do the French have a point? Britain has some of the world's highest petrol taxes, so it's hard to feel too much sympathy for foreign drivers. Americans are in shock at being asked to pay $2 a gallon: but that's still not much more than British drivers pay for a litre. A litre is 10p cheaper in France and 30p less in Germany. Is it all bad news? Not at all. Plenty of organisations, including the Treasury, think that cheap petrol encourages wasteful energy use and that, within reason, price rises are no bad thing. Beyond that, world oil supplies are limited - future generations won't thank us for wasting a limited resource in gas-guzzling cars. And a more hard-headed reason to feel cheerful is that, as an oil producer, Britain does well when the cost of crude oil is high. And will prices keep climbing? Probably not. Analysts seem to agree that in the next few months the price of crude oil will begin to fall - it's already slipped off its peak. Brent crude, produced in the North Sea, looks set to fall to around $25 a barrel. If that happens, expect petrol prices to dip too. But not by much: last time oil prices fell, petrol companies were accused of pocketing the savings rather than passing them on to drivers. This time, motorists will be keeping an eye out to make sure they don't do it again. _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
