“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.”
A constantly changing situation.
“We are assured this is a short-term issue and product is arriving on a weekly basis,” David continues. “We would advise 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”, added David.
Fuel distributors have confirmed that product is extremely hard to source with the unexpectedly high demand from consumers looking to take advantage of the price drop causing a short-term supply deficit. With distributors unable to source from their usual provider and seeking alternatives, fuel suppliers have been withdrawing spot sales in order to ensure supply to their committed customers.