A pipeline carrying up to half of Britain's oil is gradually being shut down today ahead of a strike over pensions that has already closed a major refinery and prompted panic buying.
The Grangemouth refinery in Scotland produces some 10% of Britain's petrol and diesel but also supplies vital power to the neighbouring Kinneil plant that processes the crude oil coming ashore from 70 fields in the North Sea.
Without that power Kinneil cannot operate. In preparation, several of the North Sea fields have begun to cease production.
The strike is the first to close a British refinery in over 70 years.
The Forties pipeline carries an average of 700,000 barrels per day, close to half the 1.5m barrels the country produces daily.
One-fifth of Britain's gas supply also relies on the Forties system.
The Forties oil alone is worth some £50 million pounds (€62.4m) a day and its closure for the two-day strike will make a significant dent in already stretched government coffers because of hefty tax revenues.
The British government insists there will be no overall shortages of fuel but accepts that there may be some local supply problems, particularly in Scotland and northern England.
BP said that assuming it got power back as soon as the strike ended and Forties fields resumed production rapidly, the pipeline could be back in operation within 24 hours but might take a few more days to get back to full flow.
European diesel prices have shot up this week on worries about a fuel shortage.
British gas prices have also jumped although the National Grid gas supply network said it did not expect gas shortages as warm spring weather has curbed demand.
