Shutdowns spur higher fuel costs

Refinery and pipeline shutdowns in Britain could mean even higher fuel costs.

A strike at Scotland's Grangemouth oil refinery over the weekend, in addition to BP shutting down its Forties pipeline system, which is powered by Grangemouth, has limited the nation's supply of oil, the London Times reported.

Seven tankers carried 65,000 tons of fuel from Sweden and the Netherlands to Scotland to maintain fuel supplies during the strike at Grangemouth -- it's expected to last about 10 days. Production stopped around 6 a.m. Saturday at Scotland's only oil refinery and the third biggest in Britain.

The Forties pipeline carries about 30 percent of Britain's daily oil output from more than 70 oil fields in the North Sea, and the strike could cost Britain up to $100 million per day in lost revenue. Some reports suggested energy prices could go up by as much as 20 percent before it's over.