Workers at the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland are pressing ahead with a two-day strike after conciliation talks broke down, leading to the shutdown of the refinery and potentially a major pipeline that supplies one-third of the United Kingdom's oil needs.
Ineos will need at least one month to restore full operations at the refinery, raising fears of fuel shortage
Analysts believe the supply disruption could spread if the BP Plc.-operated Forties pipeline, which supplies over 30 percent of the country's oil needs, is forced to shut. The pipeline delivers around 700,000 barrels a day of crude oil from the North Sea to the Grangemouth refinery.
A Unite spokeswoman confirmed the power station at the Grangemouth chemical complex will cease operations during the strike. The power station supplies to BP's Kinneil oil processing facilities.
A BP spokesman said Forties' operations will be "curtailed" if the electricity supplied by the power station is reduced or stopped.
"Without Kinneil, the rest of the pipeline can't run," he said, adding BP and Ineos are still trying to assess the potential impact of the refinery's closure on Forties.
Ineos, BP and the government are preparing contingency measures aimed at preventing serious disruptions to domestic fuel supply, a spokesman at Ineos said
OH DEAR
Oil prices rose above $119 a barrel as oil giant BP prepared to shut down a key North Sea pipeline and a strike at Exxon in Nigeria disrupted production.
BP's Forties pipeline, which provides a third of the UK's daily oil output, will close if a two-day strike by refinery workers goes ahead.
US sweet, light crude rose $3.15 to $119.21 a barrel, while London's Brent crude increased $2.98 to $117.32.
BBC News
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