The recent terrorist attacks on oil industry workers in Saudi Arabia threatens the price of petrol rising to above £1.

Gordon Brown has been appealing to the OPEC oil ministers in order to avoid this situation.

Prices of crude oil in London and New York markets increased by five per cent on the first trading day after the Saudi attacks, and barrel prices have reached £22.85 as market fear further attacks, hindering the supply of crude oil from the Middle East. Oil experts believe that the rising costs of crude oil take between four to six weeks to reach local petrol pumps, however some London garages have already tried to profit on the current oil situation and raised prices up to £1.12.

The government wants to act swiftly in order to avoid repeat protests of 2000. The Chancellor told the oil ministers that an unsustainable level of oil prices was not a good situation for producers nor consumers.

Some ministers have indicated a willingness to step-up production to more than ten million barrels a day. However, panic trading on global markets could force prices to be higher and threaten an economic recovery in Europe.

Further instability could result in oil prices as high as £27 a barrel, causing a 20 per cent increase in the average cost of petrol.

A spokesman for the UK Petroleum Industry Association which represents companies such as BP and Shell said that any increase in the price of crude oil will end up affecting the price at the petrol pump.