Suppliers engage in fuel rationing as stocks run low

OIL suppliers across Tyrone have been engaging in ‘fuel rationing’ as their struggle to secure stock grinds on.

As the colder half of the year nears, customers across the county attempting to fill their winter tanks have been shocked to find their suppliers have only been fit to offer them partial tanks.

One such customer who spoke with the UH was Newtownstewart woman, Bernie Mccolgan.

Bernie told us, “I first rang a company in Omagh to get a quote for 900ltrs and they said they were rationing their home heating oil this week to a maximum of 300ltrs per customer at a price of £350.

“Then I called another company nearer home,” said Bernie, “and I was quoted £920 for 900ltrs.

“As I am not completely out of oil,” reasoned Bernie, “I have decided I will wait and see if the price becomes more appealing over the next couple of weeks.”

Speaking with a Tyrone fuel supplier – who asked to remain anonymous – they said that ‘companies are being forced to choose between rationing and running dry’.

“The question for suppliers at the moment is whether to give everyone the quantity they want and risk running dry, or else cap it at a certain amount and share it out among customers.”

However, because of the most recent spike in prices, this fuel supplier said that demand has fallen from where it was three weeks ago.

“The market has sort of begun to self-regulate, meaning that the increase in price has discouraged some people from buying, for the moment anyway.”

Declining to make any firm prediction on the direction that supply and price are likely to travel, they said the following.

“These things normally go in cycles, however, there are so many factors which are beyond our knowledge influencing the current market, things are changing on a day-to-day basis and I’d be a fool to guess.”

‘UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND’

Addressing the same issue, spokesperson for Northern Ireland Oil Federation (NIOF), David Blevins, said, “We have seen unprecedented demand for home heating oil during August as prices moved lower in the early part of the month and consumers sought to replenish stocks ahead of winter.

“However, this demand has outstripped supply and distributors are reporting low levels of stock currently.

“Distributors must forecast expected demand months in advance and this unprecedented uplift in August has left us short of product.

“All oil products are brought into NI from GB, usually from Milford Haven but this year we are seeing products arriving from all over the world due to the ban on imports of Russian products. We are assured this is a short-term issue and product is arriving on a weekly basis.

“We would advise all oil users to continue to order as normal but note your distributor may limit your order to make oil available to as many consumers as possible.

“The oil industry has asked the Department of Economy since 2016 to look at an emergency storage facility in NI to prevent this sort of issue arising but to date this has never been brought to the table for discussion”, concluded David.