Oil companies say they have been able to maintain fuel deliveries with minimal disruption despite the heavy snowfall in many parts of the country.
David Hobson, commercial manager of Gulf Retail, said local authorities appear to have coped with gritting and keeping main roads clear of snow much better than in previous years.
He said: “The only difficulties we had were in South Wales, around Cardiff, where the particularly heavy snow had closed roads.”
He said that otherwise deliveries had gone very smoothly, although there had been difficulty for drivers travelling to work at depots.
For BP a spokesman said there had hardly been any disruption and he was only aware of a single delivery at one site being missed due to the conditions.
He agreed roads had been in better condition than in previous years, but said the delivery process had been helped by good winter planning and ensuring sites had good stocks, so that availability could be maintained if deliveries were delayed.
Jamie Goodfellow, retail marketing director, Murco Petroleum, commented: “Our distribution terminals faced significant challenges during the severe weather with occasional short-term closures due to snow and ice. However, by re-arranging shift patterns and staff and drivers working around the clock, we succeeded in maintaining deliveries to our retail network with minimal disruption to supply.
“Constant communication with our dealers and company owned sites ensured that loads were prioritised to maintain supply and satisfied customers.”
At Phillips 66, transport contracts manager Stuart Cufflin, said: “Our transport contractors have performed very well throughout this period, keeping our customers supplied, while maintaining their excellent safety record.
“Disruptions are inevitable during severe weather conditions such as these, and snow has caused disruption to deliveries from several of the Phillips 66 terminals, with Kingsbury being most severely affected. We thank our customers for their understanding and for keeping forecourts clear so we can deliver safely.”
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