Latest news with #supplycrunch
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Petrol stations run dry after oil refinery collapse
Petrol stations are running out of fuel after the collapse of one of Britain's biggest oil refineries cut off vital supplies. A financial crisis at the Lindsey Oil Refinery, owned by Prax Group, has unleashed chaos across a string of forecourts near the plant in Lincolnshire, some of which have been unable to secure any supplies for more than a week. The supply crunch has been triggered by a halt in fuel deliveries from the site, which was taken over by the Official Receiver after Prax collapsed. This has left many local petrol stations in disarray as they battle to source more expensive alternatives to remain open, leading to unexpected financial losses. Tom Dant, managing director at Gill Marsh forecourts in Lincolnshire, said his three garages were without fuel for at least eight days in the wake of Prax's failure. 'It is a complete mess,' he said. 'The communication has been less than poor. We can't get anything from the refinery. They have no tankers or drivers, which means there is no way that they can supply us.' Mr Dant remains locked into a five-year supply contract despite Prax's failure, preventing him from sourcing a new fuel partner. This means he has to rely on more expensive short-term supplies, which he said have already cost him £50,000 in lost profits. Bullwinkle's Garage, another nearby forecourt in Lincolnshire, is also facing similar problems. A spokesman for the business said they went five days without any petrol because of the collapse. Both petrol station businesses said they were blindsided by the company's failure, echoing complaints made by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, earlier this month. At the time, Whitehall officials said they were repeatedly assured that the refinery was not under immediate threat. However, Mr Dant questioned why ministers were not aware of the problems at Prax sooner. It comes after The Telegraph revealed that the company had been battling cash flow problems for more than a year owing to a £250m tax liability with HMRC. It is understood that Prax had approached the Government for support in 2024, although their request was denied. Signs of financial stress had also emerged at the company earlier this year when Prax started pulling direct debits from customers days earlier than planned. 'For us, how has it reached the point that the Government let them run an £250m unpaid tax, and it had not been probed before now?' said Mr Dant. Mr Miliband has since ordered a full investigation into the circumstances behind Prax's collapse, including 'the conduct of the directors'. This is likely to raise questions over why the owners of the refinery, Sanjeev Kumar and Arani Soosaipillai, were paid a £3.6m dividend the year before it collapsed. The Telegraph revealed last week that authorities are currently unclear as to the whereabouts of Mr Soosaipillai, who is the chief executive of Prax. The Official Receiver was contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Telegraph
12-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Petrol stations run dry after oil refinery collapse
Petrol stations are running out of fuel after the collapse of one of Britain's biggest oil refineries cut off vital supplies. A financial crisis at the Lindsey Oil Refinery, owned by Prax Group, has unleashed chaos across a string of forecourts near the plant in Lincolnshire, some of which have been unable to secure any supplies for more than a week. The supply crunch has been triggered by a halt in fuel deliveries from the site, which was taken over by the Official Receiver after Prax collapsed. This has left many local petrol stations in disarray as they battle to source more expensive alternatives to remain open, leading to unexpected financial losses. Tom Dant, managing director at Gill Marsh forecourts in Lincolnshire, said his three garages were without fuel for at least eight days in the wake of Prax's failure. 'It is a complete mess,' he said. 'The communication has been less than poor. We can't get anything from the refinery. They have no tankers or drivers, which means there is no way that they can supply us.' Mr Dant remains locked into a five-year supply contract despite Prax's failure, preventing him from sourcing a new fuel partner. This means he has to rely on more expensive short-term supplies, which he said have already cost him £50,000 in lost profits. Bullwinkle's Garage, another nearby forecourt in Lincolnshire, is also facing similar problems. A spokesman for the business said they went five days without any petrol because of the collapse. Prax collapse Both petrol station businesses said they were blindsided by the company's failure, echoing complaints made by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, earlier this month. At the time, Whitehall officials said they were repeatedly assured that the refinery was not under immediate threat. However, Mr Dant questioned why ministers were not aware of the problems at Prax sooner. It comes after The Telegraph revealed that the company had been battling cash flow problems for more than a year owing to a £250m tax liability with HMRC. It is understood that Prax had approached the Government for support in 2024, although their request was denied. Signs of financial stress had also emerged at the company earlier this year when Prax started pulling direct debits from customers days earlier than planned. 'For us, how has it reached the point that the Government let them run an £250m unpaid tax, and it had not been probed before now?' said Mr Dant. Mr Miliband has since ordered a full investigation into the circumstances behind Prax's collapse, including 'the conduct of the directors'. This is likely to raise questions over why the owners of the refinery, Sanjeev Kumar and Arani Soosaipillai, were paid a £3.6m dividend the year before it collapsed. The Telegraph revealed last week that authorities are currently unclear as to the whereabouts of Mr Soosaipillai, who is the chief executive of Prax.
Japan Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Some retailers hesitant to buy stockpiled rice on quality concerns
As the government releases more of its stockpiled rice to ease a supply crunch and bring down prices, concerns are mounting over the quality and taste of the older harvests. 'I'm worried about the taste. If elderly customers think the rice is bad and stop eating it, it could harm their health,' said Hidehisa Shinohara, 47, who owns a 78-year-old rice shop in Tokyo's Kita Ward. While stockpiled rice from the 2022 harvest has been distributed to large supermarket chains, the current focus on the older batch from 2021 has sparked hesitation among smaller, regional retailers. When the government started auctioning stockpiled rice harvested in 2021 and 2022 in March, buyers showed strong preference for the fresher batch due to concerns over the aging of the grain and the possibility of a deterioration of flavor. While Shinohara is considering applying to buy the stockpiled rice from the government, he expressed misgivings. 'There's this impression that we're just getting leftovers from the big supermarket chains,' he said. A manager at a small supermarket in Tokyo's Adachi Ward echoed those concerns, saying, 'We don't expect quality from this batch, so we won't apply.' The issue has also stirred political controversy. During a Lower House agriculture committee session on Wednesday, Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, criticized the policy, likening the aging rice to livestock feed. 'After a year, it'll be sold as feed for livestock. Of course it's going to be cheap,' he said, arguing that the sale of rice from the government's stockpiles fails to align with consumer demand for affordable, high-quality rice. Under the current policy, the government's stockpiled rice is repurposed for livestock feed after five years. Lawmakers from both opposition and ruling parties have widely criticized Tamaki over his remarks for being inconsiderately framed, given the circumstances. Kenta Izumi, the former leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, on Thursday weighed in on social media platform X, writing, 'That wasn't appropriate phrasing for the situation.' Tamaki later clarified on X that his comment referred to this existing framework, noting that farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi 'has also used the term 'livestock feed rice' to explain the same policy.' Koizumi sought to address doubts by sampling rice balls made from stockpiled rice harvested between 2021 and 2024 at a ministry tasting session on Thursday. He noted one batch was 'a bit firm' — which was later identified as being from the 2021 harvest — but said, 'They all tasted good.' Information from Jiji added
