Petrol stations in Ireland are running out of petrol due to panic buying during protests against the high cost of fuel
Posted by MyPrepAccount@reddit | PrepperIntel | View on Reddit | 57 comments
Logician22@reddit
How long before this happens in the United States I wonder
CannyGardener@reddit
The last oil from the strait hit the UK \~4-8. The last oil from the strait is scheduled to hit the US \~4-15 iirc. Take from that what you will.
Akiraooo@reddit
The text of the above comment is odd. They are saying the last oil shipment from the middle east that left back in January arrives in the United Kingdom on April 8th and the last middle east shipment for the United States of America arrives on April 15th.
Keep in mind that America has some oil reserves and are currently tapping into them to ease the prices. So the oil shock will take a bit to reach the consumer.
It could be months. Think August or September before things get absurdly bad if the Strait of Homuz stays closed.
DieselPunkPiranha@reddit
Don't forget the panic buying that'll happen when folks notice the prices going up. That will go through the reserves more quickly and drive up prices even further.
profanearcane@reddit
Prices are already skyrocketing. Almost $4/gallon here.
Wellslapmesilly@reddit
Paid $6 bucks a gallon today.
RealCommercial9788@reddit
Had to convert for my hemisphere - turns out a gallon is 3.78 litres.
Here in Australia, we’re up to $3.20 per litre, which equates to… $12 per gallon in the US. (?)
Maths is definitely not my strong suit, and I’m sure there’s an exchange rate to be considered in the equation, so apologies if this made zero sense.
Im just curious to see where we’re sitting in order of FUBAR.
Salute-Major-Echidna@reddit
That is definitely not 'skyrocketing '
CannyGardener@reddit
I mean, you can dicker about what the definition of 'skyrocketing' is, but doubling (100% increase) in a month is, in my book, 'skyrocketing' for just about any good/service.
Akiraooo@reddit
Those are rookie numbers lol. Note the word "absurd".
profanearcane@reddit
Yes, but around where I live that is still skyrocketing.
okiedokie321@reddit
That's cheap. Its $9/gal in the Caribbean and about the same in Europe.
disclosureanticlimax@reddit
first of all the strait is only closed to nato and usrael allies, otherwise it is not closed. secondly, even if the strait were fully opened today, that doesnt rebuild all the infrastructure that was vaporized, it would take years to get back to 2025 capacity. and thirdly, the west has already gone through like a third of their strategic reserves, august or september seems like a realistic timeline to absurdity
Wise-ask-1967@reddit
Yup probably would have been smart to make sure that was top off before you poked the bee 🐝 nest ..
whatiseveneverything@reddit
Just in time for midterms.
loralailoralai@reddit
Except the uk imports mostly from the us and Norway so they’re not as reliant on oil from the Middle East
And the us has plenty of oil and only imports about 10% from the Middle East so why are either place worrying.
Open-Impact-1607@reddit
if the US oil companies can get more $ selling their oil abroad than they can domestically, they will sell abroad.
WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit
Meh
US has more oil and refineries than Ireland … therefore better supply
Now the cost of course will be higher because it’s a global commodity
okiedokie321@reddit
I don't think we will have rationing like in Europe and other countries but we will definitely have supply and have to pay high prices for it. Cost of everything will be up. Hopefully no hyperinflation but I can see it happening in countries like UAE or Ireland.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
I doubt it will. We get very little oil from the Persian Gulf area, we export more than we import, and Venezuela has been ramping up production and is higher now than during the Maduro regime:
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php
https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/venezuela/crude-oil-production
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuela-oil-production-has-reached-11-mln-bpd-march-2026-03-25/
Venezuela is much closer to the US than the Persian Gulf.
Needless to say, Ireland doesn't produce any significant amount of oil, just around 600 barrels per day. So they have to import pretty much all of their oil.
Plus, I don't think Americans as a whole are likely to blockade our own refineries, or to stand for it if someone tries. We're a much more car-centric society: There are 779 cars per 1,000 people in the US, and just 466 cars per 1,000 people in Ireland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_motor_vehicles_per_capita
We've been through this kind of thing before, high gas prices because of wars or blockades or other shocks to the system. It's happened several times within my own lifetime, going all the back to the 1970's, and we've never done something as stupid as blockading our own refineries.
MyPrepAccount@reddit (OP)
We may have fewer cars than America but most people who don't drive still rely on public transport that requires fuel
dittybopper_05H@reddit
Isn't this rather stupid?
I mean, I'm no fan of high fuel prices, but blocking the refineries so you can't get any fuel at any price seems counterproductive. And it's not going to lower the price of fuel.
If anything, by causing shortages, it's going to make it more expensive. That's Economics 101, supply and demand. Reduce the supply but the demand remains constant, prices go up.
This seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
TwinIronBlood@reddit
Our government did a half arsed measure of cutting tax on fuel by 20c two weeks ago. Heavy diesel users like farmers and truckers are protesting for more. They've shut down motorways and blocked roads to poets and fuel depos. The head of the government has pissed rhem off more by saying they'll use the army to break up the protests. Keep in mind we're a normally peaceful country. So we've a tiny army. If they try to use them it will backfire. The farmers will just block them in and probably empty a slurry tank on them.
More_Potential5539@reddit
"They've shut down motorways and blocked roads to poets and fuel depos. "
Blocking roads to poets. Can I volunteer to barricade Paul Muldoon's driveway??? If he comes out and does a reading I will surrender and go home
CapitalImpossible640@reddit
TBH you're right.
The Irish government haven't been able to get their shit together since the 90s, so this is nothing new.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
Well, I have to give them something.
I like the symbolism of their flag: The green stripe stands for the Catholics, the Orange for the Protestants, the white stripe between them symbolizes peace, while the blue on the flag symbolizes responsible drinking.
C3ltGxd@reddit
They are protesting against tax. Tax on petrol and diesel in Ireland is roughly 50%. Protests are very organised. Government has warned them that the military will be sent in to remove blockades.
ConcussionCrow@reddit
The protests are anything but organised. They don't even have a leader, I don't know where you got that from
C3ltGxd@reddit
Organised in the fact that city centres are locked down and the dual carriageway is blocked around the country at busy times. In some places they blocked the exits and let through 1 car at a time. I personally have not seen a protest like it in Ireland. Usually it's just 1 big rally in Dublin.
n0empathy4u@reddit
The military in this country is a joke so nobody's scared at all, if anything it'll just add fuel to the fire and get more people out.
Throwawayconcern2023@reddit
The many soldiers that serve in UN peacekeeping missions would beg to differ. Small force based on population size doesn't mean it's a joke.
n0empathy4u@reddit
Never said the soldiers are a joke, they are far from it. It's more a lack of resources and numbers that are a joke. We get the British to patrol our waters and airspace for fucks sake...
Throwawayconcern2023@reddit
Ah fair. I misread ya. My bad.
Asrectxen_Orix@reddit
its more as the gardaí (police) physically do not have the equipment to move tractors and trucks, if this disruption was mainly down to cars or people on foot they are fine, but due to the size and weight of the vehicles involved they wont cut it. but the deployment of the army would extend to loaning the gardaí use of their heavy vehicle movers, not sending in guys with guns.
Pengawena@reddit
They need to go protest outside Trumps Doonbeg golf course instead.
NotAGynocologistBut@reddit
Rest of world : we need fuel
Ireland: blocades all fuel depots and tankers to stop fuel entering country.
CapitalImpossible640@reddit
They probably drank all their ethanol too, so they might be completely out pretty soon :(
Finna_Otter_91@reddit
It's good to see humor on this sub sometimes lol. my anxiety's been a little high lately and this helps!
CapitalImpossible640@reddit
Happy to help!
IntentionFalse8822@reddit
This started off as a protest against high fuel prices. Seems to have moved on from that now and they are blockading main Fuel Depots and have started blocking freight coming in and out of ports. Most of the main motorways are blocked and there are queues at filling stations as they are running out of fuel. Some shops are reporting higher than normal demand as panic buying seems to be setting in.
There are reports of some Russian influence via Far Right groups in the UK in the way this has been organised and escalated. There were talks of the army being sent in to clear those blockades but the number of protests seem to have increased in response to that so the army, which is pathetically small, aren't really large enough to manage this now.
Some of the independent TDs (members of parliament) who support the goverment are making anti-government statements. So we are looking at the potential that the government could collapse if this doesn't get resolved in the next day or two. If there is an election it is likely that a Sinn-Fein PBP led populist coalition would take power and they are strongly pro-Russia. In essence we are seeing a potential overthrow of a western democratic government and its replacement by a pro-Russia populist government.
Hairy-Tiger-2843@reddit
'' So we are looking at the potential that the government could collapse if this doesn't get resolved in the next day or two '' Take a few deep breaths and relax, it's a protest not a revolution and yes most people here are supportive/sympathetic because who isn't feeling the pinch.
IntentionFalse8822@reddit
There is a vocal minority who support them but everyone I know are fed up with them and would happily see them carted off to prison at this point.
Aggressive_Set8155@reddit
Thanks Trump you idiot!
Odd-Guess1213@reddit
Protesting the high cost of fuel 🤣
HandGrindMonkey@reddit
Nearly $11 per gallon of diesel in the UK!
Asrectxen_Orix@reddit
which gallon? US uses US customary gallons which are smaller then the UK's imperial gallons. comparing any liquid measured in gallons between the US & UK can often get very confusing for that reason.
HandGrindMonkey@reddit
US gallons.
loralailoralai@reddit
It doesn’t matter which gallon- the difference in between the two is negligible. Fuel in the u.s is much much cheaper regardless
Asrectxen_Orix@reddit
well it sort of does, its best to specify numbers like this,
boomerangchampion@reddit
I've seen $10.21 per US gallon here in the UK for diesel, today. There will be higher prices than that of course, it's just what I've seen.
For comparison that's $12.26 per UK gallon so yeah it's worth specifying.
hillierprotech@reddit
I'd protest but it's too expensive to fill my car and drive to the protests right now.
Asrectxen_Orix@reddit
by... blockading the oil refinery and several ports that import oil supplies. who knew the solution to an oil crisis is to fucking cut off the supply of oil further.
accountaccumulator@reddit
Same thing here in France. TotalEnergies fuel stations are pretty much out of Diesel everywhere here in the Alsace region
stonkon4gme@reddit
It's not exactly "PANIC" buying when people absolutely KNOW that prices will skyrocket shortly.
MyPrepAccount@reddit (OP)
It's not just the prices, right now the protests are blocking fuel depots, meaning petrol stations can't refill. So everyone is going out and filling up while there's still petrol available.
Throwawayconcern2023@reddit
This is largely due to panic buying as opposed to actually running out.
That may come too of course.
Either way, thanks Republicans for continuing to refuse to do anything meaningful to fix a whole host of issues created in-house. Guess they don't consider themselves Americans first any more.
Practical_Hippo6289@reddit
Things are about to start getting juicy...