I have trip form East Yorkshire to newcastle tomorrow, that I have carefully timed so I will be on a near empty tank when I get there with a view to filling up there (its about 5p a litre cheaper in newcastle then the local stations where I live)
Don't want to get standed up there with no fuel though, might fill up before I go and take the hit of the extra fiver a tank.
Anybody in the north east know what the pumps are like?
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The big surprise to me was the BP pipeline having to shutdown... which will affect more than this one refinery surely? And will cost BP a lot for each day its offline! So these strikers are affecting more than just Joe public.
But I'm afraid they do not have my sympathy.... they have pensions they don't have to pay into themselves....??? So many final salary pension schemes have closed for all members elsewhere. But that's a bit too polics for a site like this.
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Just listened to the news on this, BP are now closing down a crude oil pipeline from the North Sea. This pipeline carries half the UK production of oil and will cost at least £50m a day in lost production as the knock on effect hits platforms. The Government is saying very little other than "Don't Panic". Mind you they've had a bad week I s'pose.
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PU our posts passed but think we're equally surprised.
It's all well to say don't panic. But if there's queues at a petrol station and you'll need some soon you might have to join the queue.... and then the panic starts.
EDIT: The bit I find surprising is why BP is reliant on a company for power (steam maybe)? What happens when the plant is shutdown for maintenance or explosion? Shouldn't BP have a contingency plan?
Edited by rtj70 on 25/04/2008 at 15:47
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Oilrag, I'm going to have to disagree. If the tank is knocking on empty, by all means join the queue. But to go out and block pumps to "put a tenner in", as the poster above did, is pointless and frustrating to everyone else.
I drive my car until the fuel gauge is bent over the little peg at the bottom before refilling, and I loathe people who make me wait while they stick £5/£10 in. Honestly, I have about a million better things to do with my life than hang around while these people forget the pump number, lose their cards, try to remember their PIN, and then decide they don't want the chocolate bar they spent 2 minutes choosing after all, can they have a refund?
You might have guessed from this rant that I filled the car up yesterday and did indeed have to sit in a queue of morons. However, I'll be fine for the next 2 weeks.
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I drive a Nissan Micra
£25 pretty much fills it
So while the pumps were relatively quiet last night.... and I mean in the time I was there nobody came up to queue behind me... I decided I'd fill it up to last me through till next weekend (touch wood).... The pumps where you pay in the kiosk were quite busy, I paid on pump.
I certainly wouldn't queue to put a tenner in.
Edited by kaytronika on 25/04/2008 at 15:54
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"However, I'll be fine for the next 2 weeks"
My Mazda6 diesel is reasonably full. But I need to go to Slough from the NW next Wednesday... normally would drive but if I do then that's a lot of the tank gone on the round trip of just over 400 miles... so the £255 train option it might be just in case :-(
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What I know, is that these places are shut down for maintenance every couple of years on a rota anyway. There are a lot of bad changes happening in most countries at the moment.
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Can you fly instead? I worked out it would cost me £120 to do a return trip from Exeter to Leeds, but can fly there with Flybe for under £60. Obviously, you don't have a car at your destination, but if you can make do with public transport (I'm only visiting friends) then it's a no-brainer, and it gives me a chance to chat to the pilots afterwards. ;-)
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"Can you fly instead?"
No (unfortunately). It would be cheaper and quicker. But to get this signed off would be near impossible. Madness. But for obvious reasons not too many staff can travel on the same plane.
To fly I'd need a business case, director level approval etc... and it would be cheaper and quicker than the train. Doh.
Edited by rtj70 on 25/04/2008 at 16:17
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having spent the last few hours in london and essex i can report that there are massive queues at many petrol stations
just watched the news and my feeling is that its being significantly down played on the news to try and prevent even more panic
useless govenment who voted for these idiots?
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"useless govenment who voted for these idiots?"
Not me.... but the latest idiots were not voted in were they. Blair jumped ship ;-) And the imminent election was postponed because they thought they might lose then ;-)
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Queuing in the South of England is just plain stupid - don't people just love queuing!
Even if Grangemouth takes several days to get going again, surely power can be restored to BP's pipeline soon enough after the two-day strike (which I agree is also stupid). In any case I'm sure someone knowledgeable can tell us where the South's supply of oil comes from - how much comes from there anyway?
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Many filling stations in Falkirk (next door large town to Refinery) are without Diesel. Petrol still seems universally avaialble but prices have gone up - £1.20 is Std price for Diesel - I bought V-power Diesel 10 days ago @ £1.20 (regualr was £1.13/14p)
The only sites to benefit from the impending strike are the filling stations with higher prices.
BP will lose £50m / day on their pipeline alone, the Govt will lose tax revenues and Ineos will lose Bucket Loads as it will struggle for days if not weeks to get a Refinery and Polythene Factory back-up and running.
I would estimate that Ineoes MIGHT save £300,000 in the 1st year by cutting Pension of theri 1200 employees - cheap when anything from £50-£100million will be lost PER DAY!!
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It's this wonderful sheep mentality the supposedly intelligent human race possesses. Someone sees a little queue and thinks "there must be a problem, I'd better fill up while I can." Someone else follows suit, and before you know it, they're causing the very problem they are trying to avoid.
Fuel shortages are a problem of course, but this one, if it even hits the South, will only be temporary. I have far more important things to do than queue for fuel on the off chance that I might not be able to buy fuel for a few days next week, and I find it extremely sad that so many of my fellow citizens clearly don't have anything more worthwhile in their lives.
The government have shown no leadership at all, but frankly that doesn't surprise me. They'll still be wafted from A to B in their limos whatever happens.
Cheers
DP
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Not sure the 'minimum' ration technique would help much (cripes, did I just say 'ration'..?). As a one-off, perhaps, but after that people would be filling up the 'minimum' anyway - and that's the point: the extra fuel required for us all to be nearly-full all the time moves all that fuel from storage into out tanks - the purest definition od panic buying.
I'm taking no chances though - just been oiling my Bowie knife & making sure my fletch has a good supply of arrows - there's a wood nearby, so am going to set-up a submerged hide with a few tins of corned beef & peaches. I reckon I can hold out for a few weeks, maybe even bag a few rabbit if I'm lucky.. , now where's that bandana..
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