Oil crisis deepens in Britain, huge crowd at petrol pumps [World TKB]

There is an oil crisis in Britain. In the last one week, there has been a lot of panic and uneasiness among people about oil at most gas stations of the country. Local media reports suggest that the situation remains chaotic at most of the petrol pumps across the country.

In several videos viral on social media, miles long queues are seen outside petrol pumps, apart from panicked citizens collecting as much petrol as they can in small water bottles.

Gas stations that usually sell 20,000 to 30,000 liters of oil per day are now selling more than 1,00,000 liters. There is panic among people about the purchase of oil at many petrol pumps in Britain and there is also a fight for it in many places.

Call to give priority to health workers

The situation here is so dire that the British Medical Association (BMA) has called on health workers to access oil on a priority basis as they have to ensure that the health system does not collapse.

There is a fear that it may get out of control, the British government has asked the army to be prepared to deal with the crisis. However, it has also been clarified that the problem is not related to shortage and the country has sufficient oil reserves.

Oil companies in Britain have also confirmed that there is no shortage of oil. Then why are British citizens stocking up on oil like there will be no tomorrow?

Companies claim no shortage of oil

Several major oil companies operating including Shell, ExxonMobil and Green Energy have made it clear that there is no shortage of oil in the UK. According to petrol pumps and government officials, the problem is due to panic buying.

As a result, most petrol pumps in the UK have run out of oil, while many are running out of stock. Under the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), two-thirds of the 5,500 independent outlets ran out of oil at petrol pumps on Monday itself and the rest may run out soon.

Panic started with this decision

The BBC reported that after the oil company BP announced the temporary closure of some of its petrol stations last week, there was panic among people about the oil.

UK petrol pumps are not facing a crisis due to fuel shortage, but it has more to do with the supply chain. Simply put, the UK is facing a shortage of people qualified to operate heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) or lorries.

Why is the crisis happening

There is a shortage of over 100K truck drivers in the country and this is a serious problem due to which the supply of many goods and services ranging from groceries and fuel has been disrupted.

Experts believe that England’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) has a major role in the current shortage of lorry drivers. After Brexit, many European drivers left England to work elsewhere. Tax changes introduced by Britain after Brexit and tighter immigration laws made it difficult for many European workers working in Britain, including truck drivers. Brexit also affected his income greatly.