When we thought it can't get worse – it did

Westonman · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:46 am **Posts:** 1806

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... osure.html

Quote:

Motorists face chronic fuel shortages and soaring prices at the pumps after one of Britain’s biggest fuel refineries went bust, petrol retailers have warned.
Forecourt bosses and MPs said there was a risk of parts of the South East ‘grinding to a halt’ amid reports production had stopped at the Coryton refinery, which supplies around a fifth of the fuel in the region and 10 per cent of the UK’s supplies.
The closure of the giant Essex refinery also threatens to push up pump prices as supplies diminish.
The warning came as the refinery’s Swiss parent company Petroplus said talks with its lenders had broken down and it would be filing for insolvency with the loss of up to 1,000 UK jobs.
Petrol retailers warned Treasury minister Danny Alexander in a face-to-face meeting that the financial crisis at the Coryton refinery in Essex - one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of fuel would cause chaos at the forecourts if it ceased production, the Mail can disclose.

Ration coupons on the way? How many can remember ration coupons for 2 or 4 gallons per week? In those days of rationing we din't have a working population that depended of long distance commutiing to get to and from work as most poeple worked close to home.

The developing Middle East situation with Iran; and now the treatened closure of a significant percentage of UK oil refining capacity are just what the UK economy doesn't need right now. The £2 or £3 pound litre may be a lot closer that we all imagined it might be.

Kremmen · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:18 pm

How can a petrol company go bust ?

I thought there was loads of profit ?

geezer466 · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:06 pm **Posts:** 1307

As I understand it the plant is profitable.....

It was simply not profitable given the level of interest the existing Company has to pay on its loans. The banks can see the situation is not getting any better (fuel consumption is actually decreasing) and consequently has withdrawn the credit line.

They should be able to sell it on quite quickly and with no impact on production. In any event tonight the plant is still refining product.. The next few days will show us which way this is going to go.

Petroplus have been on the ropes for months as a result of overcapacity in the European market and chronic funding issues that limited their capacity to source stocks
It closed down refineries in France, Belgium and Switzerland in December and the German and UK refineries have been operating at less than 50% capacity.
Most likely BP, being the main purchaser of output, will buy Coryton at a knock down price.

All that said it still won't stop the chancers profiteering as a result of the news.

firestorm · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:05 pm

On the news earlier they said it would not have any long term effect as a buyer would be found and they where still producing fuel, they also said no delivery tankers had left the site today and some Garages were low on stock. This must also include the Shell Garage on Yeading Lane / White Hart as they had none left earlier.. :shock:

SOT · **Joined:** Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:14 pm **Posts:** 659

I have a friend who works at the plant, who at 51 years of age finds himself with the prospect of looking for a new job along with perhaps 900 other former colleagues. With his only daughter getting married in the summer, a mortgage to pay off, and his disabled wife unable to work, there were a few tears shed in his house last night.

It's worth remembering that it's not just the prospect of us lot queuing for fuel in the next few days (I saw that already in Ickenham last night), but there;s personal trauma associated with this shock news as well. Let's hope they find a buyer

geezer466 · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:06 pm **Posts:** 1307

SOT wrote:

I have a friend who works at the plant, who at 51 years of age finds himself with the prospect of looking for a new job along with perhaps 900 other former colleagues. With his only daughter getting married in the summer, a mortgage to pay off, and his disabled wife unable to work, there were a few tears shed in his house last night.

It's worth remembering that it's not just the prospect of us lot queuing for fuel in the next few days (I saw that already in Ickenham last night), but there;s personal trauma associated with this shock news as well. Let's hope they find a buyer

The plant is integral to the fuel requirements of the UK, without it demand for refined road fuels cannot be met. If no buyer is forthcoming then no doubt the Government will take it over short term.

I fully expect BP will buy it as a knock em dead price.

As for the queing in Ickenham it's just the usual panic reaction, there has so far been no interruption of supply.

Kremmen · **Posted:** Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:08 pm

Tesco in Yeading this morning, most of the filler nozzles were blanked off with those yellow plastic things.

Either they are short or they have an issue with the pumps.

Moley · **Posted:** Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:02 pm

^^ Perhaps too many 'driveaways ' ?!

Kremmen · **Posted:** Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:20 am

Same thing at a Shell garage I pass in Surrey this morning - only 2 of the available 4 pump islands working.

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When we thought it can't get worse – it did

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