Unions at a major British oil refinery were due to meet management for talks on a planned strike that drove oil prices to a new record on Monday as a farmers’ union said fuel suppliers had imposed rationing. The 200,000 barrels per day Grangemouth refinery in Scotland was cutting production on Monday ahead of a two-day strike due to start on Sunday over pensions cuts. A shutdown at Grangemouth could cut flows of North Sea crude into Britain and hit British gas supplies if the Forties pipeline, which feeds the refinery, is forced to close. “The union is meeting the company later this evening,” a source with the refinery’s union told Reuters by telephone. “The plant is in the process of beginning to shut down.” Ineos was not immediately available for comment on talks. Earlier, refinery owner Ineos’ Communications Manager Richard Longden said it would take a week to fully shut the plant. Worries about a supply disruption at Grangemouth was one of the factors helping push U.S. oil futures to a new record high of $117.76 a barrel on Monday. Oil traders said the effects could be felt first on the diesel market. “It’s more a diesel problem than anything else,” said one London based oil trader. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the dispute was a matter for the company and unions to resolve. “There is contingency planning under way,” he said, without giving details. The threat of shortages pushed the price of London ICE gas oil futures, the basis for diesel prices throughout Europe, within a few dollars of their all time record high of $1,079 per tonne. European gasoline hit a record of $1,002 per tonne. In New York, gasoline futures surged to their record high of $3.0040 a gallon and heating oil, the basis for U.S. diesel and heating oil prices, hit its all time peak at $3.3309 a gallon. Workers have threatened to strike over pensions on April 27-28 at the refinery at Grangemouth on the east coast of Scotland, which the plant’s owners said over the weekend would force the facility to close for at least a month. Scotland’s branch of the National Farmer’s Union said its members had reported fuel rationing at a time when spring sowing and lambing meant increased fuel needs, and encouraged its members to conserve fuel. “This is a busy time of year for farmers and we are already hearing reports that some suppliers are unable to fulfill demand for fuel,” Scott Walker, National Farmers Union Scotland policy manager, said in a statement. “Some farmers are only receiving 50 percent of their fuel orders as suppliers restrict deliveries for fear of a shortage in days or weeks to come.” A full shutdown of Grangemouth would force Scottish suppliers to import cargoes from elsewhere in Europe or seek supplies from refiners in northern England. “The petroleum industry has an ability to handle the potential closure of Grangemouth,” said Luke Bosdet, a spokesman for the AA, a British motorists association.

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