Britain’s fuel price crisis could face another blow this week as more than 160 Apache offshore workers prepare to strike and Unite warns the action could disrupt the Forties Pipeline System.
The 24-hour walkout begins at 6am on Wednesday 21 October and will affect seven Apache assets linked to the Forties and Beryl fields. A second strike is already scheduled for 4 November if the pay dispute is not resolved.
The timing could hardly be worse. UK pump prices have surged again in recent weeks with average petrol now around 175p a litre and diesel about £2 as disruption in the Middle East and tighter global fuel supplies push up wholesale costs.
Brent crude also touched almost $110 (£81) a barrel last week, its highest level since May before easing back slightly on Monday. Against that backdrop any threat to domestic North Sea flows will be watched closely.
Unite says disruption at Apache’s Charlie platform could reduce pressure sufficiently to affect the wider Forties Pipeline System, which is operated by Ineos and handles oil and gas from more than 80 offshore fields as well as the St Fergus gas terminal.
The union says the system accounts for around 29% of UK oil and 30% of UK gas throughput, making the dispute potentially much bigger than a single operator or platform.
Workers rejected a pay offer which Unite says ranges from a freeze to below-inflation increases, leaving many facing a real-terms cut. Talks with ACAS are due before the strike although the union says progress so far has been limited.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The fact is Apache has so far chosen not to do this which is putting UK fuel supplies at risk.”
The warning comes as motorists are already dealing with some of the highest forecourt prices seen since the latest Middle East crisis began. Government data shows fuel prices have continued to rise through October with wholesale increases feeding through quickly to drivers.
That gives the Apache dispute a much wider economic edge.
If the strike materially reduces North Sea production or affects Forties flows it would arrive at exactly the wrong moment for a market already dealing with expensive crude, constrained diesel supplies and nervous global shipping routes.
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