The Scottish government yesterday stepped into the dispute at the Grangemouth refinery, ordering an expert intermediary to help to resolve the industrial dispute which could cripple fuel supplies across the country.

Stewart Ritchie, president of the Faculty of Actuaries, has been asked by ministers to carry out a study to “clarify” the issues at stake. If both sides accept his role, strike action could be postponed, pending publication of his report. The move was announced after John Swinney, the Scottish Finance Secretary, told the Scottish TUC annual congress that he had listened with horror to exchanges between the two sides.

“The government believes fundamentally that this is an issue that has to be addressed by dialogue and discussion between [both sides],” he said.

The move came as experts said that the continued availability of fuel, even in the event of a month-long shutdown of the plant, depended entirely on motorists avoiding panic buying.

Yesterday the public nerve appeared to be holding, and although fuel sales are up, there were no reports of widespread panic buying.

The threat of disruption to supplies, which is being used as the main negotiating tool between the union Unite and the refinery owner, Ineos, was enough to force the hand of Scottish ministers. If both sides agree to the intervention it would mean the suspension of planned industrial action on April 27 and 28, pending a report.

As part of preparations for the strike, Ineos yesterday closed down a primary distillation unit at the 200,000-barrel-a-day Grangemouth.

The trouble at one of Britain's nine main refineries sent fuel price futures soaring, helping to drive oil to a new record high above $117 (£59) a barrel.

But experts said the closure of Grangemouth did not mean supplies would dry up. Scottish suppliers could import from elsewhere in Europe or seek supplies from northern England. The government, which holds fuel reserves of 70 days, has started putting contingency plans into place.

The AA pointed out that no disruption in supplies followed the fire at the Coryton refinery last autumn, in Essex. Edmund King, its president, said: “The current problem is being played out in public with the threat of fuel disruption being used by both sides as a negotiation tool.”

He urged drivers to keep to their normal refuelling routines and not top up their tanks unnecessarily.

Mr Swinney said: “It is not acceptable for this dispute to go unresolved and inconvenience Scottish people and business. This is a matter that must be solved by constructive dialogue involving both parties.”

Scottish trade unions yesterday gave their overwhelming support to the workers at the Grangemouth refinery. In an emergency resolution passed unanimously at the Scottish Trade Union Congress, 400 delegates representing more than half a million trade union members voted to back the 1,200 Unite members.

Grahame Smith, STUC general secretary, said: “We do not believe, and will not be intimidated by, management scaremongering about heath and safety or fuel shortages.”

Tom Crotty, Ineos chief executive, said: “The union's planned strike could have significant consequences for Scotland and the North of England and we would urge them to work with us to find a way of resolving this issue.”

The company is writing to all Grangemouth workers, asking them to accept a new set of revised pension proposals, and has urged the union to call off the strike.

Ineos gave warning that it had started running the site down and said a strike would effectively close Grangemouth for a month.

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