UK Strategic Fuel and Food Reserves

[NorthernRaider]

UK Strategic Fuel and Food Reserves
© Northern Raider

With the current concerns over the Russian / Ukraine gas and oil problems I thought a repost of this could be interesting.

I was reading about the strikes in France a while back and the claim they were running out of fuel, so I did some digging, the facts below are very interesting, but worrying as I could not find any fact to support the fact the UK has its own fuel reserves except what the refineries hold!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11573181

European Union
In the European Union, according to Council Directive 68/414/EEC of 20 December 1968, all 27 members must have a strategic petroleum reserve within the territory of the E.U. equal to at least 90 days average daily internal consumption.[34]

France has an SPR with an approximate size of 65 million barrels.[39] As of 2000 jet fuel stocks were required for at least 55 days of consumption, with half of those stocks controlled by the Société Anonyme de Gestion des Stocks de Sécurité (SAGESS) and the other half controlled by producers.[40]

Germany created the Federal Oil Reserve in 1970, stored in the Etzel salt caverns near Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany, with an initial size of 70 million barrels (11,000,000 m3).[41] The current German Federal Oil Reserve and the Erdölbevorratungsverband (EBV) (the German stockholding company) mandates that refiners must keep 90 days of stock on hand, giving Germany an approximate reserve size of 250 million barrels as of 1997.[42] The German SPR is the largest in Europe.

The United Kingdom has created a strategic reserve, the size is unknown.
I just found this in a Parliamentary document:

The UK does not have strategic oil reserves. As a member of the European Union and of the International Energy Agency, the UK is required to hold emergency oil stocks equivalent to 67.5 days' national consumption for release in the event of disruption of international supplies. It meets these obligations by directing oil companies to hold stocks under powers derived from section 6 of the Energy Act 1976.

At the end of March 2008 the following stocks were available to the United Kingdom:

Million tonnes
i) Crude oil and refinery process oils: 7.1
ii) Petroleum products 6.7

These were equivalent to 78 days' national consumption.


These would most likely be held for use by the military and civil authorities.


Natural gas reserves

Storage
The UK currently has a total gas storage capacity of 3.3bcm, equivalent to 14 days’ supply at average winter gas demand rates. Gas is mainly stored underground since larger volumes (several bcm) can be stored in natural reservoirs or cavities than in above ground tanks.
The UK’s largest gas storage reservoir is the Rough field a partially depleted gas field in the southern North Sea, operated by Centrica.9 It provides over 80% of total UK gas storage capacity at 2.8bcm. Additional gas storage facilities are located in nine man-made underground salt cavities at Hornsea in Yorkshire.
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn230.pdf

So if the gas supply was cut off of failed only 14 days later most of the nations heating and hot water systems would fail!!!!!.


The Strategic food reserve as was
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/features/food/

Basically we had lots of food set aside, now we don’t appear to have any.

(The following foods were held in the 1980s):
Flour - This was a special high protein, low moisture content flour which was turned over every 4-5 years.
Yeast - Packed in tins with an expected life of 10 years.
Sugar - Held in 56 lb sacks and turned over if it started to deteriorate.
Fat - Known as `Ministry Marge' with an expected shelf life of 20 years.
Biscuits - Sweet biscuits in large tins apparently baked in the 1960s.)
Depending on source it was estimated the UK food reserves were between 60 and 90 days’ worth.
(2012)
Using my own value system I reckon the UK has about 3 days’ worth of food available and that is held by the Supermarkets not the government, so possibly by day seven there will be lots of starving people DEMANDING food, so base your prep planning accordingly.

[bigpaul]

if imports of food stopped and we as a country had to be self sufficient we can only feed about 25% of the population from our own resources, with the ensuing violence and disorder(WROL) I'm not expecting any more than 5-10% of the population to survive long term.

[John]

Although this is interesting it appears to be a little dated.
The Strategic Food Stockpile appears to have been disposed of by the end of 1995. The THE FUTURE OF UK GAS
SUPPLIES report is dated October 2004. The BBC Report is from October 2010.

I would certainly be interested in more up to date information on the first two of these.

[Karidian]

Just from local observation; Glasgow has a few big blue gas storage tanks at the side of the m8 motorway. ( you know the kind that sort of expand upwards as the volume inside grows). I have never seen them so low, for such a long time. I personally think that with the price of gas now the companies that supply it (ours is eon) are pretty much just buying it as they need it rather than storing it.
As regards to petrol/diesel etc. Look a few years back when the haulage industry was organising mass protests and blockages of the refineries. Petrol stations all over the place ran out of fuel within days due to panic buying. Even if the government do have fuel stocks available the average citizen isnt likely to see it. Either that or there will be a fight at the forecourt to get it.
My 2p for what its worth.

[bigpaul]

the only fuel stores in the UK is what is at the refineries or in the fuel pumps in the filling stations and the only food reserves are what are in the supermarkets or in the "distribution centres"-in this area there all on the M5. as far as the fuel protests went our local supermarket ran out of milk and bread within 24 hours and shelves were empty of other stuff within 48 hours, I did notice that the smaller stores Spar, Londis and Costcutter and the like got resupplied cos they use smaller trucks whearas the larger stores don't.

[Kenneth Eames]

Thanks for these contributions Gents, It reminds me to buy another £100 worth of food before the end of the month. I certainly do not believe that the stocks of goods in the UK is very large. Kenneth Eames.