‘Amid Brexit, UK could breach emergency fuel commitments’

Bloomberg

The UK might fail to honour commitments relating to emergency fuel stockpiles as its exit from the European Union approaches, a trade group representing the nation’s oil refiners said.
Europe manages its fuel inventories as a bloc, so part of the UK’s emergency stocks can be held in other member states. In some cases, the fuels are held by companies on behalf of governments on a quarterly or an annual basis, under what’s known as a ticketing system. Because of uncertainty over Brexit, some other nations are reluctant to renew the storage arrangements, according to the UK Petroleum Industry Association.
“Brexit is having an impact on UK companies, with some EU countries choosing not to allow oil stocking tickets from the beginning of 2019 due to the Brexit uncertainty,” Jamie Baker, a UKPIA spokesman, said in a statement.
“UKPIA members believe this significant risk to international oil stocking tickets must be addressed as a matter of priority, or risk non-compliance with international obligations.”
Were Britain to exit the EU without a deal, the country would almost certainly end up switching to a program coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, involving countries as far away as Japan, Australia and the US. Any potential shortfalls, while unlikely to pose a long-term threat to Britain’s energy security, nonetheless highlight the myriad logistical challenges the country faces as it prepares to leave the EU.
As of August, the UK stored almost 2.6 million metric tonnes of fuels in other countries, the largest amount of any European Union country, according to Eurostat data. It holds 783,000 tonnes for others. The UK holds about 45 percent of its requirements elsewhere in the EU, according to UKPIA estimates.
Under the EU’s rules, countries must maintain emergency stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products equal to at least 90 days of net imports or 61 days of consumption, whichever is higher. For Britain, the requirement relates to consumption.
In practice, if the UK did join the IEA system, it’s unlikely the country would ever need to receive supplies directly from faraway countries.