Ten oil terminals in the UK have seen their operations disrupted after access roads were blocked by environmental protesters Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.
The two groups said on Friday morning they had blocked “10 critical oil terminals” in the Midlands and southern England, where activists sat on the roads preventing tankers from leaving the sites.
ExxonMobil UK said “small protests” took place outside its fuel terminals in Hythe, Birmingham, and West London, where the operations were temporarily suspended as a result.
The oil company wrote on Twitter: “While we respect the right to peaceful protest, our priority is the safety of our people, our neighbours, the protesters, and our operations. We are working with the police to ensure that safety is maintained.”
Just Stop Oil claimed that more than 30 young activists climbed on top of tankers at Navigator Terminals Thames in Essex.
Essex Police said 13 people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the highway.
Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan said: “This is an extremely dangerous situation for the protesters to be in. We are being clear on the risks and are continuing to engage with them to try and bring this to a conclusion.”
Just Stop Oil said in a statement that it is demanding an end to the government’s “genocidal policy of expanding UK oil and gas production.”
It called on “all those outraged at the prospect of climate collapse and suffering from the cost-of-living crisis” to stand with the group.
Extinction Rebellion announced on Friday that it will launch daily “mass participation” protests from London’s Hyde Park from April 9.
The group will be “more disruptive than ever,” said spokesman Andrew Smith.
Also on Friday, another environmental group that calls itself “The Tyre Extinguishers” claimed its activists have deflated tyres on nearly 2,000 SUVs in the past four weeks.
The group said its supporters have taken action in cities across Britain in an attempt to “make it impossible” to own the vehicles in urban areas.
It describes SUVs as “a climate disaster,” “dangerous,” and “unnecessary.”
The Tyre Extinguishers describes itself as “leaderless” and encourages people to take action by reading instructions on how to deflate tyres on its website.
It said people can also print off leaflets to leave on the windscreen of affected vehicles to inform drivers what has happened.
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