UK has reserve diesel supplies if Russia turns off the tap, government says
The government has moved to assure people that it has wells of reserve diesel supplies in the event that Russia shuts off its supply to the UK.
Russia supplies 18 per cent of the UK’s diesel, despite being less reliant on the country for other forms of gas compared to other European countries.
The UK has around 13m diesel cars on the road, along with 655,000 lorries and buses.
A government spokesperson told the Sunday Telegraph: “The UK is a significant producer of both crude oil and petroleum products and holds oil stocks in the unlikely event of a major oil supply disruption.”
Russia has 140,000 troops stationed along the Ukrainian border and US intelligence believes that an invasion is likely to happen in a matter of days.
There are fears across Europe about what effect this could have on gas supplies as much of the EU relies on Russian refineries.
A spokesman for the UK Petroleum Industries Association trade group said: “The UK has a resilient fuel supply benefiting from a robust domestic refining base and import infrastructure for fuels that give ready access to international crude and product markets.
“The market share of Russian diesel in the UK has reduced since its high in 2018 and now, less than a fifth (18pc) of our diesel supply comes from Russia, while global markets have shown their ability to adjust quickly to redirect supply in the unlikely event of any disruptions.”