By Cernig
Following on from Fester's post yesterday on the strike at Grangemouth refinery complex in Scotland, the strike hasn't even begun yet and Scotland is out of fuel.
I've just spoken to my father, who says that there's only one filling station in the whole county of Fife still with fuel this evening. Every garage in Prime Minister Brown's home constituency is dry. Panic buying, with people filling up their vehicles and every container they could, has depleted even deisel stocks far faster than expected. On the local news last night, footage was shown of tankers filing up to take fuel abroad (including to the U.S.) and today public opinion is strongly of the view that Scotland should be keeping what little fuel it has.
The refinery's shutdown has also already prompted the shutdown of a pipeline from the North Sea oilfields and around 65 oil rigs. Operators had said they would hold off until at least saturday but have acted earlier. There are worries that too long a lay-off could mean massive re-start and repair bills for offshore infrastructure, further escalating prices. Oil is now at $119 a barrel.
With oil at $119, global refinery capacity as tight as it is, and no improvements expected for the foreseeable future, Grangemouth's owners should be swimming in money. And yet, like so many other economic elites now, their first instinct is to attack employee compensation.
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