A family relying on oil to heat their rural home has reported that the price of heating oil has doubled within two weeks following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Lawrence Salvoni, an unemployed accountant from Northwich, Cheshire, expressed significant concern about the security of oil supplies to his household.
The father of two recounted his experience on the morning after Iran was first attacked, when he learned that the price per litre of heating oil increased from 57p to 87p.
"Originally we thought 'Well, that seems expensive, let's sit tight for five minutes and see what happens'," he said. "Big mistake, because when we actually got to place the order on the Tuesday, it had gone to 117p per litre."
Longer-term fears
Salvoni explained that when attempting to order 1,000 litres of heating oil, his supplier informed him that they could only deliver a maximum of 500 litres.
"We tried to order 1,000 litres but our supplier essentially said 'we can't deliver that much oil to you, the most we can send you is 500'. It was a relief to obviously get some."
He added that in the last two weeks, the family has spent nearly £1,400 on heating oil, which is more than double the amount paid for the same quantity less than 12 months ago.
"In the last two weeks we've spent nearly £1,400, which is more than double what we paid the last time we put that much oil in the tank less than 12 months ago."
Salvoni noted that although he is currently unemployed, his wife is employed, which makes short-term budgeting manageable, though not easy.
"We're in the fortunate position that although I don't work at the moment, my wife does. So, short-term budgeting is still relatively - I wouldn't say easy - but it's certainly straightforward for us."
He emphasized the challenge of having to purchase a large quantity of oil at once, as normally 1,000 litres would last approximately six months.
Looking ahead, Salvoni expressed concerns that a prolonged conflict could jeopardize the security of oil supply.
"The problem we have is having to buy that much oil in one go. Ordinarily 1,000 litres would probably last six months or so."
"It's not as though we could switch to an alternative source," Salvoni explained.
He further explained that when the family moved into their home 11 years ago, it was configured to use oil for heating due to the absence of nearby gas mains.
Plans to establish gas supply infrastructure in the area a few years ago did not come to fruition, he added.
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