The Ripple Effect of the U.K. Gas Shortage

Описание: Richard Ballantyne, CEO of the British Ports Association, discusses how a truck driver shortage is not only impacting gasoline supplies, it's also creating a bottleneck at UK ports. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi

Britain’s government is implementing emergency measures in an effort to keep gasoline flowing, after a weekend of panic buying left gas stations around the country without fuel.

Long queues of cars were seen outside U.K. gas stations in recent days, as drivers attempted to fill their vehicles following media reports of an impending shortage, prompting ministers to urge the public to buy fuel as normal.

A major lack of truck drivers has meant deliveries of fuel and goods have recently fallen short in Britain.

U.K. Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Sunday that he had exempted the fuel industry from U.K. competition laws, which he said would allow companies to “share information and prioritize the delivery of fuel to areas most in need.”

Meanwhile, thousands of truck drivers are set to be granted temporary U.K. visas in the run-up to Christmas, in an attempt to limit supply disruption ahead of the festive period.

Hundreds of gas stations around the U.K. have also imposed a £30 limit per customer on gasoline purchases, Sky News has reported.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was widely reported to be considering using military personnel to deliver fuel to gas stations. But speaking to Sky News on Monday, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the government had “no plans at the moment to bring in the army to actually do driving.”

“We always have a Civil Contingencies section within the Army on standby – but we’re not jumping to that necessarily at the moment,” he added.

A spokesperson for the U.K. government was not immediately available to comment on the situation when contacted by CNBC.

Gordon Balmer, executive director of the U.K.’s Petrol Retailers Association, told LBC News on Monday that temporary visas would ease supply constraints to an extent, but added that it was not enough. He said he hoped the government was indeed considering measures like drafting in the army.

“A lot of people have filled up over the weekend, many people only fill up once a month,” he said. “That might give us some respite to start to replenish stocks over the next few days.”

Balmer added that in a PRA poll of members, some gas station operators had reported that 90% of their sites were dry.

Oil giant BP said in a statement on Friday that it had temporarily closed some of its gas stations due to shortages of unleaded and diesel petrol.

“These have been caused by some delays in the supply chain which has been impacted by the industry-wide driver shortages across the U.K. and there are many actions being taken to address the issue,” a spokesperson said.

“We continue to work with our haulier supplier to minimize any future disruption and to ensure efficient and effective deliveries to serve our customers. We are prioritizing deliveries to sites with largest demand and seeking to minimize the duration of stock outs.”

A spokesperson for Exxon Mobil’s Esso told CNBC on Monday that a number of its 200 forecourts had been impacted “in some way.”

“We are working closely with all parties in our distribution network to optimize supplies and minimize any inconvenience to customers,” they said in an email.

The spokesperson added that ExxonMobil operates the U.K.’s largest refinery and an extensive underground pipeline network that supplies its fuel distribution terminals, all of which was running as normal.

» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC Classic: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCclassic

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-n...

Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook:
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-cred...

#CNBC
#CNBCTV