http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article336415.ece Britain facing fresh oil supply crisis, warn independents

Some heating oil distributors are reported to be refusing to supply business or domestic customers because they do not know when they will be able to get new stocks, and householders who rely on oil to heat their homes are facing delays in getting supplies just as the country braces itself for a cold snap.

The Association of UK Oil Independents (AUKOI), which represents the country's largest privately owned distributors and importers and all of the major supermarket chains apart from Asda, fears that once the extent of the problem emerges it will trigger panic buying, making the crisis still worse. There were reports last night of petrol stations in north-west London running out of supplies, with motorists having to drive miles to fill up.

The looming crisis has been caused by a combination of factors such as bad weather, Hurricane Katrina, the Buncefield oil depot fire and fears that the dispute between Russia and Ukraine over gas supplies would cause a run on oil. But it has been exacerbated by the sharp rise in gas prices, which has prompted some gas-fired power stations to switch to gasoil and kerosene. This has reduced the amount of refining capacity available to produce petrol and diesel and also threatens to squeeze supplies of home heating oil which many householders in rural areas rely upon.