September 2005 Archives

The Guardian reports the totally predictable news that:

"Opec deaf to chancellor's pleas for cartel to pump more oil

· We're not to blame for crude crisis, say producers
· Prices surge again as Tropical Storm Rita looms

Larry Elliott, economics editor
Tuesday September 20, 2005
The Guardian

The oil producers' cartel Opec was last night poised to deliver a snub to Gordon Brown by postponing an increase in output demanded by the chancellor to cut the economically damaging surge in energy costs in the west.

On the first day of a two-day meeting in Vienna, the 11-nation group rejected the chancellor's argument that it was to blame for spiralling energy prices and was holding back from boosting output by an additional 500,000 barrels per day."

"Several ministers said they were opposed to higher output quotas when global refining capacity was at full stretch and unable to process more crude.

"There is no problem with supply. The problem is a shortage of refining capacity," said the Libyan energy minister, Fathi Omar Bin Shatwan. Saudi Arabia has been scouting the market to sell more crude in October, but says it can find no buyers."

Does Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown really have no clue about how the global petroleum market actually works ?

The BBC reports that Sir Richard Branson is thinking about building an oil refinery, to help reduce the world price of oil which is so high, partly due to the lack of investment in oil refineries.

Given the construction lead time and costs involved, this is an area where Chancellor Gordon Brown should have acted several years ago, either with UK Government tax breaks and grants or loans, or at the European Union level.

"Branson hopes to build refinery

Sir Richard Branson plans to hold talks with the government about paying for a new oil refinery.

The Virgin Atlantic boss told the BBC he wanted to reduce his airline fuel bill, which has increased by £300m a year over the last two years.

He said there was an "enormous shortage" of oil refineries and said he was looking at building one.

The BBC reports:

" 'Huge support' for M4 fuel action

Fuel protesters planning a major go-slow along the M4 on Friday claim the action still has massive backing.

Organisers are predicting long tailbacks on the motorway's eastbound during the morning rush hour and westbound queues in the afternoon.

Friday is the last of three days of protests by the Fuel Lobby, which wants fuel tax cut. Petrol retailers claimed Thursday's action had little impact.

It comes as two supermarket petrol retailers promised to cut their prices.

Both Asda and Tesco are cutting up to four pence off a litre of petrol.

The M4 protest is going ahead despite low turn-outs at protests at refineries on Wednesday"

So after these three days of low key protets, will the Fuel Crisis have been solved ?

Will there be peaceful protestS and demonstrations at the Labour Party Conference , 25th to 29th September in Brighton ?

The BBC reports taht:

Low turnout for fuel tax protests

Demonstrations over the price of petrol have been largely low-key, with small numbers of protesters at refineries.

Organisers said the campaign was meant to be symbolic, claiming it had already put the government "on the back foot".

There has been no repeat of Tuesday's panic-buying of petrol among motorists, and suppliers said those garages which had sold out were being replenished.

Activists want fuel duty to be cut after a series of price rises but said they would not blockade refineries."

The mainstream media are now moving over to almost saturation coverage of petrol queues at filling stations, caused by self fulfilling prophecies of panic buying, even before any protests have started.

The Times has more details of various different regional fuel protest ideas. How many of them gather up enough support remains to be seen.

On what evidence, and under what law is this reported threat to hauliers' licences ? If people are desparate and they believe that they are being forced out of business anyway, such a threat is likely to strengthen the resolve of those people who do not feel politically crushed by the NuLabour state.

"Protest hauliers warned that they may lose licences

By Valerie Elliott, Countryside Editor
POLICE chiefs have told hauliers who protest at British refineries this week to expect a tough response.

Whitehall has ordered police to report any lorry used in any protest to the Vehicle Inspectorate. Hauliers, who plan demonstrations at refineries from 6am on Wednesday, have been told that they risk losing their licences to operate if their vehicles are involved in any blockades."

The function of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency is to ensure that helath and safety legilation is obeyed. If yhere have been no criminal offences committed by peaceful protestors, and presumably if there are any, the Police would arrest and prosecute demonstrators, then why is the Vehicle Inspctorate being dragged into a political dispute ?

What business is it of the "Vehicle Inspectorate" or of "Whitehall" to mete out punishments for political activity ?

Or is this just anothe bit of NuLabour disinformation being fed to the Mutdoch press ?

It looks as if the planned fuel protests are gathering some momentum. There ahs been plenty of reporting on the main TV news channels, so , presumably the panic buying will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, again.

The BBC reports:

"Last Updated: Sunday, 11 September 2005, 19:35 GMT 20:35 UK
'Extra days' of fuel tax protests

Mr Spence said truckers in France and Spain were also planning protests in sympathy with demonstrations in the UK.

"They are basically closing Calais on Wednesday, and they are wanting us to close Dover.

"What we have done this last 48 hours by bringing this to the fore and bringing the government out on the issue - to me, it is a success in itself," he added.

Protesters in Wales plan to stage a 20mph rolling blockade along the M4 from 0700 BST on Friday."

Is this Independent on Sunday report, a genuine "scoop", or has the spectre of petrol rationing been leaked/briefed to them by the NuLabour Government's spin doctors ?

Will there now be "panic buying" before Wednesday ?

Secret plan to ration fuel on the forecourt

Ministers draw up crisis strategy to combat petrol protests as prices soar

By Francis Elliott, Deputy Political Editor
Published: 11 September 2005

Motorists face rationing at petrol stations under emergency plans that are being drawn up by ministers to combat this week's fuel protests, The Independent on Sunday has learnt.

Ministers met secretly last week to finalise the Government's response to blockades of Britain's refineries threatened for Wednesday.

Petrol prices - which passed the £1-a-litre mark in the wake of Hurricane Katrina - are expected to remain at record highs in the coming weeks because of damaged refineries on the US Gulf Coast.

Soaring petrol prices are likely to add to growing demands for fuel tax cuts and further encourage militant hauliers and farmers into taking direct action in order to force the Government's hand.

Planned measures to combat a successful blockade include rationing of supplies, limiting the hours during which petrol can be sold and reserving some filling stations for "priority users". Leading hauliers were called in for a meeting with Department of Trade and Industry officials last week, at which they were warned that police have new powers to remove blockades.

Nevertheless, protesters are determined to press ahead with plans to cause traffic chaos with a mass go-slow. The South Wales Hauliers' Association is to mount a rolling blockade on the M4 on Wednesday, before deciding whether to advance on refineries. Another group, Fuel Lobby, has already announced that it plans to prevent supplies from reaching filling stations from 6am on Wednesday.

Where is the national energy policy ?

The BBC reports that:

British Gas prices to rise 14%

British Gas customers are facing higher fuel bills after the company said gas and electricity prices would rise 14%.

The firm will increase residential charges across the UK from 19 September, blaming rising oil prices and shrinking domestic gas reserves.

The BBC reports:

"Further fuel protests threatened

Organisers of the 2000 fuel protest, which caused severe disruption when refineries were blocked, say they will act again if fuel tax is not cut.

Fuel Lobby made the announcement as the price of unleaded petrol rose to more than £1 a litre in parts of the UK as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

The group says all UK refineries will be blocked from 0600 BST on 14 September unless price cuts are made.