Petrol cost rise warning over oil terminal closure

Petrol prices could rise following the closure of an oil depot, drivers are being warned.

Dalston oil depot in Cumbria is to be closed at the end of the year after its owner, Petroineos, said the site had been operating at a loss.

Ian Chambers who runs the Chambers Garage in Tirril, near Penrith, said the closure would lead to higher costs for petrol stations, which could be passed on to customers.

Petroineos said it had informed customers of its closure plans and had given them time to "arrange alternative sources" from the "well-served" market.

The Dalston depot is one of 63 oil terminals based in the UK and the only one located in Cumbria.

It receives fuel from the Grangemouth Refinery, in Scotland, which Petroineos plans to close in the second quarter of 2025.

Mr Chambers said his petrol station had been operating for more than 60 years and he had always tried to help the community by selling fuel at a "good price".

But he said his low prices have been jeopardised by the closure plans.

"All the suppliers in Cumbria draw their fuel from the Dalston terminal and if it shuts there is nowhere else to go apart from much further afield," Mr Chambers said.

"[That] is going to lead to extra costs for the haulier to go and collect and deliver it, which he then has to pass on to us and then we have to pass it on to our customers."

A spokesman for Petroineos said: "We have been incurring financial losses on supplies into Dalston for some time now, along with the wider financial losses being incurred by the refinery.

"Our rail contract expires at the end of the year and we have informed customers at Dalston that we won't be renewing that contract, giving them time to arrange alternative sources in a market that is well-served by other refineries and suppliers."

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