A New Winter Of Discontent ?  

British protesters are planning to demonstrate against fuel price rises at refineries and fuel depots, raising the spectre of a repeat of the blockades of 2000. Protests against fuel taxes, in particular, seem spectacularly ill-advised to me - reducing these in the face of peak oil just delays the market response (to alternatives and greater efficiency) to the price signal that is being sent. They'd be better off protesting for an electrified transport system...

Fuel protesters threatening demonstrations this weekend at refineries and depots warned motorists and hauliers yesterday to "fill up by Saturday" and promised a winter of discontent unless ministers moved to cut prices.

One organiser predicted hundreds of people would be outside big storage installations but said there would be no blockades of deliveries of petrol and diesel. "We don't want to spoil Christmas shopping for the general public," said David Handley, chairman of Farmers for Action and a member of Transaction 2007, a pressure group urging further action next year if the government does not respond to complaints. ...

The government, oil industry and police have contingency plans to control any possible rerun of the 2000 protests, which included blockades, convoys and rolling roadblocks. Downing Street was shaken by the success of that campaign.

Better preparation against threats of terrorism and the need to keep supplies of fuel and food in emergencies mean ministers and the oil industry will be ready this time. The government will also seek to win a PR battle as unease about Britain's high fuel taxes compared with the rest of Europe escalates. Ministers are likely to point to areas of life where taxes are higher in other countries.

Italy's striking truck drivers blocked highways outside cities and border points Tuesday, causing shortages of gasoline and perishable food and prompting the government to order them back to work.

The Transport Ministry said Tuesday evening that it had ordered the truckers back to work starting at midnight, and that new talks had been set for Dec. 20.

The blocking of highways since Monday "is an inadmissible violation of citizens' freedom," Premier Romano Prodi said on state TV as he defended the back-to-work order. The center-left leader expressed concern that the protest was "damaging the country in the run-up to the Christmas holidays, in the most delicate period for our lives and for the economy." The strike forced Fiat to lay off thousands of workers temporarily for lack of supplies at factories.

Most of Italy's supplies move on wheels. But little fuel was delivered to pumps on the second day of a five-day strike to press demands for lower gasoline prices and shorter working hours. Unions walked out of a meeting Tuesday with Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi, breaking off negotiations meant to end the strike.

Trucks blocked traffic on highways outside Rome, Milan and other major cities. Many gas stations across Rome were closed or put up signs reading "out of fuel." Long lines of cars and scooters formed in front of those still operating.

A prominent energy economist warned Tuesday that global oil markets are at risk of being under-supplied as national oil companies gain greater control of the world's petroleum supplies.

Some 37.5 million barrels a day of additional oil-production capacity is needed by 2015, but only 25 million barrels a day are planned, International Energy Agency Chief Economist Fatih Birol said.

To narrow the gap, major oil producers, especially OPEC members, must ramp up production, Birol said, while major oil consumers, including the U.S., must make policy changes to ease demand.

While those changes are possible, there are "no major reasons to be optimistic," Birol said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. Birol said he is worried that oil-producing nations will allow parochial political interests to get in the way of global economic interests.