British Gov't Considers Calling on Army to Deliver Fuel to Petrol Stations

British media reported today, Monday, that Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson is considering the possibility of calling on the army to deliver fuel to the country's stations, due to the fuel crisis in the United Kingdom (UK).

Agence France-Presse indicated that the rush to buy motor fuel in Britain continued today in light of the possibility that the shortage of truck drivers due to the repercussions of the Coronavirus and Brexit.

The British government mulls over using the army to make deliveries, as Transport Minister Grant Shapps refused to exclude requests for assistance from the military.

While the German store "Aldi" confirmed that it "has no problems with the delivery of goods to many of its branches in the United Kingdom.

As for the giant oil company, "Shell", it stressed that it "is working hard to ensure that supplies are delivered to customers."

"The company has issued a statement that said since Friday, we have seen more demand than usual across our network, which has led to shortages in some categories of fuel."

The statement added that the company replenishes these categories quickly, usually within 24 hours.

For its part, the Petroleum Traders Association(PTA) said that "about half of the 8,000 stations" in the UK ran out of fuel on Sunday, as drivers formed long queues to fill their tanks, while the association's president, Brian Maderson, confirmed to the BBC, that "the shortage came as a result of the rush to buy fuel simply.

In a related context, British Business Secretary Kwasi Quarting announced that he is suspending competition laws in the oil sector to ensure that suppliers can share key information and work together more effectively to ensure disruption is minimized.