Consultation outcome

Downstream oil supply resilience

From:: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Published: 17 October 2017
Last updated: 9 June 2021 — See all updates

Read the full outcome

Consultation on fuel resilience measures: government response

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Detail of outcome

June 2021

Parliament published the draft Downstream Oil Resilience Bill 2021, containing measures which provide government with powers to ensure that fuel supply system resilience is maintained.

Based on the response to this consultation, the measures only apply to companies operating or owning facilities in the downstream oil sector and are limited for the purpose of ensuring fuel supply resilience. They include:

directions - power to direct Downstream Operators to take action that may be necessary to ensure resilience and continuity of supply
information - to enable collection of information to better understand the impact of potential disruptive events, and to use the information to support industry in improving fuel resilience
restriction on acquisitions - to ensure that new owners of critical fuel infrastructure are financially sound and operationally capable
financial assistance - to enable government to support supply resilience improvements

Government has heard clearly industry’s calls for a light-touch approach to measures, with careful consideration taken to minimise any impacts on market dynamics and competitiveness. We will continue to work with industry on refining the proposed measures to ensure that this aim is achieved. There will be further opportunity to comment on the draft legislation and detail of the measures, where appropriate.

Detail of feedback received

We received responses from 28 stakeholders. These included:

refiners
wholesalers
terminal and storage owners
hauliers
retailers
end users
consumer representatives
the devolved administrations

Overall, there were varying levels of support for the measures proposed in the consultation. Some stakeholders felt that the sector’s track record of maintaining supply argued against any new measures, whereas others maintained that improved resilience was necessary to reduce risk for consumers.

Original consultation

Consultation description

We are consulting on possible new measures to maintain the security of fuel supply to consumers. The proposed measures would apply to companies operating in the downstream oil sector and form part of a wider package of proposed reforms to government’s approach to the protection of critical infrastructure.

These proposals are consistent with the department’s objective of ensuring that the UK has secure and reliable energy supplies, and our ongoing work with the sector on fuel supply resilience.

This consultation seeks views on proposals to improve fuel supply resilience in the following areas:

Monitor - to enable BEIS to collect information from the downstream oil sector to better understand the impact of potential disruptive events, and to use the information to support industry in improving fuel resilience
Protect - to align this sector with protections that apply in other critical service sectors, by enabling government to ensure that new owners of critical fuel infrastructure are financially sound and operationally capable; and to take government spending power to enable government to support supply resilience improvements and schemes
Insure - to enable industry to create and operate collective, sector-wide industry-led schemes to maintain fuel supply in case normal supply arrangements are seriously disrupted; and a power to direct individual companies to participate in such schemes and take other action that may be necessary to ensure resilience

The purpose of the consultation is to gain a formal view from industry and other interested parties on the proposals in this consultation document, and your ideas as to how these proposals can be improved.

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