A weekend of panic buying has left many gas stations across the U.K. dry

September 28, 2021: -Britain’s government is implementing emergency measures to keep gasoline flowing after a weekend of panic has left gas stations around the country without fuel.

Recently, long queues of cars were seen outside U.K. gas stations as drivers attempted to fill their vehicles after media reports of an impending shortage, prompting ministers to urge the public to buy fuel as usual.

A significant lack of truck drivers has meant deliveries of fuel and goods have recently fallen short in Britain.

On Sunday, U.K. Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said that he had exempted the fuel industry from U.K. competition laws, which he said would permit the companies to “share information and prioritize the delivery of fuel to areas most in need.”

Although, thousands of truck drivers are ready to be granted temporary U.K. visas in the run-up to Christmas in an attempt to limit supply disruption ahead of the festive period.

Sky News has reported that hundreds of gas stations around the U.K. have also imposed a £30 limit per customer on gasoline purchases.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was widely reported to be considering using military personnel to deliver fuel to gas stations. But speaking to Sky News on Monday, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the government had “no plans at the moment to bring in the army to do driving.”

“We always have a Civil Contingencies section within the Army on standby, but we’re not rushing to that necessarily at the moment,” he added.

On Monday, Gordon Balmer, executive director of the U.K.’s Petrol Retailers Association, told LBC News that temporary visas would ease supply constraints to an extent but added that it was not enough. He said he hoped the government was indeed considering measures such as drafting in the army.

“A lot of people have filled up over the weekend; many people only fill up once a month,” he said. “That might give us few respites to start to replenish stocks over the next few days.”

Balmer added that in a PRA poll of members, some gas station operators had reported that 90% of their sites were dry.

Oil giant B.P. said in a statement on Friday that it had temporarily closed some of its gas stations because of unleaded and diesel petrol shortages.

“These have been caused by few delays in the supply chain which the industry-wide driver shortages have impacted all over the U.K., and many actions are being taken to address the issue,” a spokesperson said.

“We continue to work with our hauler supplier to minimize any future disruption and to make sure efficient and effective deliveries serve our customers. We are prioritizing deliveries to sites with the greatest demand and seeking to minimize the duration of stock-outs.”