Oil pipeline closure sparks fuel panic in Britain

Britain on Sunday shut down a North Sea pipeline which supplies 40 percent of its oil and gas, sparking panic-buying of petrol after a strike at a major refinery.
The start of a two-day walkout by around 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery, west of Edinburgh, in Scotland, forced the neighbouring Forties pipeline to close down at the same time, operator BP said. The pipeline brings more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil ashore every day and supplies Britain and international markets. It cannot function without power and steam from Grangemouth.
The walk-out, organised by trade union Unite, is over a pensions row, and Grangemouth oil workers have taken out advertisements in Scottish newspapers to explain their position to the public in a bid to appeal for their support.
Staff and families held a demonstration Sunday outside the refinery, which experts have said could take weeks to get back to full operational capacity.
Britain''s main opposition Conservative Party warned the strike will hit world oil prices, while the ruling Labour Party is urging calm and says there are enough stocks to last through the strike.
Many motorists, particularly in Scotland and northern England, rushed to pumps to stock up, despite government reassurances that sufficient reserves are in place. Some petrol stations have introduced rationing or price hikes while others have run dry.
The Scottish government is shipping around 65,000 tonnes of fuel - mostly diesel - in from Europe to bolster supplies during the action, which should be enough to last about 10 days.
One tanker, carrying about 3,000 tonnes of fuel, arrived in the North Sea port city of Aberdeen on Sunday evening, while two others were expected to land during the night, a Scottish government spokeswoman said.
Offshore oil industry body Oil and Gas UK has urged politicians to intervene in the dispute, saying the pipeline closure will cost the economy 50 million pounds (65 million euros or 100 million dollars) per day in lost production.
But Business Secretary John Hutton said the UK government in London had made "every effort" to prevent the action taking place, particularly the closure of the pipeline.