UK to deploy soldiers within days to help ease fuel shortage

The U.K. oil industry said the fuel crisis is easing after the government deployed additional tankers and put the army on standby to drive trucks.
 

There are “signs that the situation at the pumps has begun to improve,” fuel suppliers including BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “We remain confident that the situation will stabilize further in the coming days.”

Earlier in the day, the U.K. government said it is deploying its reserve tanker fleet to ease the crisis that’s brought chaos to the nation’s gas stations. Army drivers will be used within “days,” Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.

The government’s reserve tanker fleet will be on the road this afternoon, driven by civilians, in order to boost deliveries. Some 150 Army drivers were made available on Monday in case they’re needed. That might be the case as soon as this week. 

The fuel suppliers said they met with Kwarteng on Wednesday and “continue to work closely with the government to maintain regular deliveries of fuel.”

The government is trying to get to grips with the fuel crisis after days of chaos as long lines of vehicles formed at the nation’s forecourts, blocking traffic and provoking fights. 

At the height of the disruption, more than half the country’s petrol stations had run dry on Sunday. While ministers and fuel retailers say the situation is improving, drivers were still experiencing difficulties finding fuel, and long waits to purchase it. 

While until now, a shortage of drivers had been at the root of the shortages, companies have recalled some from leave and are at surge capacity, leading to some operators having more drivers than tankers, a person familiar with the matter said. That’s why the government’s 80-strong reserve tanker fleet has been made available they said, adding that there is still an industry-wide shortage of drivers. Hoyer, which delivers fuel for customers including BP Plc, said it is short 50 drivers for its trucks. 

Of the 150 Army drivers placed on standby, about half would be able to deploy this week if needed, with the others requiring more training, officials have said.

Deliveries Matching Sales
 

The U.K. Petrol Retailers Association saying on Wednesday that the number of stations without stock fell to about 27%, from 37% a day earlier. “We are expecting to see the easing continue over the next 24 hours,” said Gordon Balmer, the PRA’s Executive Director.

“The situation clearly is stabilizing,” Kwarteng said. “If we look at the inflows, the deliveries of petrol, they were matched yesterday by the sales.”

Storage of fuel at the U.K.’s forecourts is never at full capacity, even in normal times, when they are on average 46% full, the person familiar with the matter said. Last week, storage declined every day, reaching a low of 10% at the weekend, before increasing the past two days, they said, declining to say what the current level is.

London taxi drivers said there’s little sign of improvement on the ground. 

“The situation is absolutely no different today as it was earlier this week,” said Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents half of the 22,000 drivers of London’s iconic black cabs. “Most fuel sites are shut, those that are not shut are very few and far between, have enormous queues, have all the fights and all the arguments and that kind of stuff.”

‘Ample’ Reserves
 

Ministers have been struggling to show they have a handle on frequent ructions in the supply chain, of which the fuel shortages are just the latest example. During the pandemic, supermarket shelves have been left bare amid an estimated 100,000 shortfall of truck drivers.

Johnson’s opponents have blamed the Brexit deal he signed with the European Union for cutting the U.K. off from the bloc’s seamless labor market, a narrative the government has rejected.

By bringing in the Army, the government is trying to end the chaos and the attention on Brexit it has fostered. It is also a calculation that the dramatic image of soldiers in fuel trucks will be less damaging politically than appearing to allow the crisis to drag on.

The government has said it expects shortages to ease once the panic-buying ends, and again on Wednesday urged Britons to return to normal habits. 

“We are working closely with industry to help increase fuel stocks and there are now signs of stabilization in the forecourt storage,” a spokesperson for the government said. “We have ample fuel reserves and remain confident the situation will improve in coming days. The sooner we can all return to our normal buying habits, the sooner the situation will return to normal.”