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UK forecourts see fuel theft jump since Iran war disrupted oil supplies
Industry data from Forecourt Eye estimates daily stolen fuel value rose 48% to about £194,000, with incidents up 20% since Feb. 28.
UK petrol stations are experiencing a rise in fuel taken without payment since the Iran war began, with industry analysis putting the average daily value of stolen fuel at nearly £194,000, according to BBC Business.
Forecourt Eye said incidents of unpaid fuel theft at forecourts increased by a fifth in the five months after Feb. 28, based on a representative sample of 550 forecourts and extrapolated to the UK’s 8,359 forecourts. It estimated the daily average value of stolen fuel rose 48% versus the five months before the war, and that daily incidents averaged 2,872 after the conflict started, up from around 2,400 earlier.
The fuel theft prevention firm attributed the wider problem to the conflict disrupting Middle East oil supplies, pushing up wholesale prices and then costs at the pump in the UK. Forecourt Eye estimated the daily volume of stolen fuel rose 24% from about 87,000 litres to about 108,900 litres across all forecourts.
In response, Forecourt Eye said it plans to partner with facial recognition company Facewatch to give more than 2,000 retailers free access to crime reporting technology from autumn. The report also notes fuel prices peaked in April before easing in June after a US-Iran framework deal, though prices have risen again since peace talks collapsed.