Refinery strike takes oil price to new high

OIL SET another record yesterday, climbing to within a whisker of $120 a barrel as traders fretted about the closure of the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland and disruptions to crude output in Nigeria.

It even shrugged off a rally in the dollar, in which oil is priced. The slide in the dollar has been a significant reason for the rising value of crude. The price of a barrel of US light crude rose by $1.50 a barrel to as high as $119.93 during trading, but later dipped slightly as dealers took profits. London Brent crude was up 71 cents to $117.05.

In Northern Ireland, road hauliers and other business users are anxiously waiting to see if the 48-hour strike due to end today at Scotland's only oil refinery will have an impact on fuel supplies or prices.

Workers are expected to return today to the Scottish oil refinery which is a key supplier of fuel to the North. About 1,200 workers walked out of the plant on Sunday in a dispute over pensions with the refinery's owners, Ineos.

The company has warned that, if work resumes as planned today, normal production levels will still not return at the plant for at least three weeks. The strike forced the British oil giant BP to shut its key Forties North Sea pipeline - a major supplier of oil and gas in the UK on Sunday.

Oil and Gas UK, a representative body for the offshore oil and gas industry, has suggested the closure of the pipeline could cost the UK's domestic economy £50 million per day in lost production.

Petrol stations in Scotland have reported running out of fuel and some have resorted to rationing supplies and have increased their prices.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment has also stressed that Northern Ireland receives fuel supplies from a number of different sources, including Grangemouth, and that contingency plans have been put in place.