Petrol: Brown fears panic buying

He intervened as fears of panic-buying grew after a minister warned some petrol stations could run dry.

Energy minister Malcolm Wicks urged motorists to be "patient and sensible" if a two-day strike at Grangemouth in Scotland, one of Britain's biggest refineries, goes ahead on Sunday.

A key North Sea pipeline may be closed by the stoppage, and this could lead to gas and electricity bills rising. Up to 1,200 workers plan to strike over pensions.

Mr Brown, on a visit to Wales, urged union leaders and refinery owner Ineos to reach a deal. He said: "It is absolutely vital that all the parties get back to talking as quickly as possible."

The AA said road users should try to limit journeys to save supplies. With Scotland and the North already being hit by panic-buying, petrol prices in London and the South could go up as a knockon effect, the Conservatives warned.

Despite pleas to motorists not to panic-buy, supplies at many Edinburgh petrol stations were running low this morning and one had run out. Others were rationing drivers to £10 or £20 worth of fuel.

With local elections and the mayoral poll on Thursday, ministers are desperate to avoid a repeat of the petrol shortages caused by fuel protests in 2000. They pointed out that Britain has eight other major refineries which can meet demand.

But speaking on BBC Radio 4 earlier, Mr Wicks said he could not ensure every garage would have petrol every time drivers arrived to fill up.

"Overall supply is not a problem, but of course logistics are a problem," he said. "By logistics, I mean I cannot guarantee that every garage forecourt will have petrol at that precise moment.

"I hope the vast majority of people are sensible about this. They might have to be patient. People will have to be sensible and rational." Ineos said it had now completed the shutdown of refining and petrochemical production at the Grangemouth site. The 1,700 acre facility usually processes 210,000 barrels of oil a day.

Ineos chief executive Tom Crotty warned that bosses of the Unite union had refused to guarantee to maintain power and steam supplies needed to keep the nearby Kinneil plant in production.

Kinneil receives about 725,000 barrels of crude oil and 80 million cubic metres of gas a day from the Forties pipeline system in the North Sea.

Oil giant BP was preparing to close down the pipeline, though negotiations aimed at keeping it open were ongoing this afternoon.

Closing the pipeline would force up to 70 North Sea oil platforms to halt or cut production.

Industry body Oil and Gas UK says this could cost Britain an estimated £50 million a day. "Unite's action will impact on the whole of the UK," said Mr Crotty.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "Contingency planning is in place.

"We are encouraging motorists not to buy any more fuel than normal because increase in demand could potentially cause difficulties for those needing fuel."

Lib-Dem business spokeswoman Sarah Teather said: "Malcolm Wicks's comments are very ill-conceived. Ministers must be very careful that they don't end up talking the country into an avoidable fuel crisis."

Shadow business secretary Alan Duncan warned that Grangemouth could take more than a week to restart fully.

"The danger is that even London and the South could be affected by further price increases," he said.