There was widespread rationing of fuel at filling stations across the north-east yesterday as forecourts tried to eke out their supplies.
In Aberdeen, the Five Mile Garage allowed customers only £10 of petrol or diesel each and also banned drivers from filling emergency cans.
At the city’s Esso service station in Holburn Street, spending at the pumps was limited to £20 per customer.
A member of staff said panic-buying was still the main problem, adding that the garage expected to get fuel deliveries as normal.
Elsewhere, petrol station bosses continued to see widespread panic-buying, despite reassurances that the fuel supply could last until the middle of May.
In Fraserburgh and Mintlaw there were reports of stocks running low, while the petrol station at Morrison’s in Peterhead was diesel-only.
Filling stations in the Banff and Turriff areas were busier than normal, and there was no unleaded fuel at Macduff’s Union Road service station.
The dispute also continued to affect filling stations across Moray yesterday, with pumps closed and petrol stations reporting busy forecourts.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Small Businesses last night called on the Scottish Government to keep its members at the “front of mind” during the proposed strike.
Scots policy convener Andy Willox said: “Throughout Scotland, small businesses are waiting to see how the shutdown of Grangemouth will affect them. Large-scale businesses may have the fuel reserves that could mitigate against any disruption to the fuel network but most small businesses will not have similar reserves.
“FSB Scotland would urge the government to keep the small business community ‘front of mind’ during this difficult period.”
Public bodies across Tayside and Grampian vowed last night to work together to minimise disruption.
Strategic co-ordinating groups in the region, which are made up of representatives from emergency services, local authorities and other agencies, have held meetings to discuss how the dispute might impact local communities.
The meetings have been attended by the chief executives of the local health boards, bosses at local authorities and chief fire officers and representatives from the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Chairman of the Tayside group, and assistant chief constable of the force, Clive Murray, said: “Our priorities are public safety, reassurance and business continuity. I understand that, with normal levels of fuel usage in the Tayside area, there will be enough fuel to maintain supplies to the public. I urge people not to panic-buy.”