With the price of Brent crude passing $110 a barrel today, forecourt operators are increasingly feeling the strain from the Middle East conflict with fuel-supply issues.
Operators with smaller tanks are being hardest hit, with deliveries being rolled back by one or two days and rations being imposed on their fuel allocations.
This comes as UK prices for refined products spike, with diesel up nearly 6% today just after the trading market opened, according to Portland Pricing.
The latest increase in prices follows drone and missile strikes on energy infrastructure across the Middle East. Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, which produces around 70% of the country’s gas, was targeted by Israeli forces.
Iran retaliated with strikes across the Gulf including the 402,000-barrels-per-day Samref refinery in Yanbu, one of the largest facilities in Saudi Arabia. The refinery is located in the west of Saudi Arabia and has played a key role in exporting oil crude and oil products via the Red Sea since the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
One Certas-supplied forecourt operator in the East Midlands told Forecourt Trader that he was without unleaded today due to restrictions being placed on the amount of fuel he could be given out of the Kingsbury Oil Terminal in Warwickshire. He added that by the time the delivery arrives, he will have been without that grade for 24 hours.
“Where a full tanker is 38,000 litres they restrict to 30,000 litres, which then means you need to place the next order earlier,” he told us. “Also, deliveries are being rolled by one or two days, so that if my order was due on Tuesday, it is coming Wednesday or Thursday. They are stating it’s due to allocations but it’s putting pressure on petrol stations.”
Tom Buckley, general manager of the Sussex-based Pricewatch Group has also seen “some delays and a reduction in volumes coming from Certas”. However, he remains pragmatic recognising that the situation reflects the wider pressures across the supply chain.
“From our side, the situation remains under control. We have not had any sites out of fuel for more than a few hours at any stage, and all sites are currently open, trading and supplied.”
He adds: “Gulf have been working very closely with us throughout and have been proactive and responsive in helping us manage the situation. Their support has been key in keeping our forecourts supplied, and we recognise the significant effort they are making in what is clearly a very challenging operating environment.”
Certas Energy, responsible for the Gulf brand in the UK, concurs, adding that that the situation has been out of its control. “We are not responsible for the product allocation at Kingsbury Oil Terminal,” said a spokesperson.
“Certas Energy continues to work hard with partners and suppliers to ensure fuel can be delivered to stations across the UK to minimise disruption to customers,” they added.
Before the fresh attacks in the Middle East, the war with Iran had already been causing supply issues. Operators in the Scottish islands ran out of petrol over the weekend – two filling stations in North Uist and a larger forecourt in Benbecula – hampered by bad weather stalling deliveries.
Tanerdy Garage in Carmarthen, Wales, posted on Facebook on Friday that it was taking proactive action to avoid fuel shortages by restricting motorists to a £45 limit on fuel. The owners said at the time: “We are fairly confident that our supply of fuel will remain strong next week and hopefully will be able to lift the restrictions.”
And on Tuesday an operator in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Drum of Wartle Filling Station, took to Facebook claiming that its supplier Gleaner had changed its pricing structure without prior notice from a weekly average to daily Platts-based price, leading the forecourt to increase prices at the pump by around 20p per litre in just one week.
It said: “To resolve this, we have given notice to Gleaner and are working to switch to the Jet brand as quickly as possible.”
Gleaner was contacted for a comment.
