Previous strikes have caused chaos
Gordon Brown has told motorists not to panic buy at the pumps as tanker drivers prepared to strike.
PistonHeads reported yesterday that ministers have put in place contingency plans in case of a walkout.
But now it is feared the strike will definitely go ahead and the Department for Business said it is ‘inevitable’ that some filling stations will run out of fuel.
Meanwhile one of the largest energy companies in the world, Russia’s Gazprom, has warned that oil prices could rise from today’s closing price of $131 a barrel to $250 in ‘the foreseeable future’.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Brown said: ‘The most responsible thing the public can do is continue to buy as normal.’
He added that Brown was disappointed that the action by Shell drivers looked set to go ahead.