FIRST Minister Alex Salmond was today preparing for a possible meeting with Gordon Brown to discuss the Grangemouth oil refinery strike.
Around 65,000 tonnes of fuel are being shipped in to Scotland to ease pressure on the forecourts in the wake of the 48-hour walkout.
Workers will return to the plant at 6am tomorrow though it could take some time for it to resume normal operations
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The Unite union has not called any fresh strikes but says operators Ineos need to halt proposed pension changes if talks are to continue.
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PetrolWatch: Prices and availability in Edinburgh and the LothiansThe two sides held negotiations last week at the conciliation service Acas but they collapsed without agreement.
Mr Salmond is expected to discuss the situation with the Prime Minister when he is in London today.
Mr Brown's spokesman said efforts were being made to arrange a meeting between the two.
It is believed it would be the first such meeting between the two leaders since Mr Brown arrived in Number 10 in June last year.
Meanwhile UK Business Secretary John Hutton will visit Scotland tomorrow.
He will meet with fuel industry representatives and retailers to discuss the situation and thank them for their work to keep supplies moving.
Mr Hutton insisted both governments were doing all they could to get Unite and Ineos management back round the negotiating table.
The MP SAID: "We're doing all we can here, and I know the Scottish ministers are doing the same as well, to try and create that space for the two sides to come together again and try and sort this out.
"We're talking to both sides. I spent some of the weekend talking to the trade unions and the company and I stand ready to have further discussions later today.
"My principal responsibility to the people of Scotland is to make sure that if there is disruption that we minimise the impact of that and we do all we can to make sure that the Scottish economy and Scottish motorists are not inconvenienced."
In the north of Scotland, a tanker carrying 3000 tonnes of diesel and kerosene from Grangemouth docked at Aberdeen last night.
The fuel will be distributed to filling stations across the region.
There were some shortages at the weekend following several days of motorists rushing to fill up their tanks.
At midday on Saturday, five of Scotland's 956 filling stations were out of fuel and 70 had partially run out.
Unite's Phil Mr McNulty said: "We don't want to go on strike again and we shouldn't be put in a position where we have to.
"We are faced with a very, very aggressive employer that quite frankly we are not used to in the oil industry and not used to in strategic industries that are as important as this one."
Mr McNulty said if Ineos "removed its intention" to close the pension scheme on August 1 then the union would re-enter talks.
"We will negotiate very hard, but we will negotiate", he said.
Tom Crotty, chief executive of Ineos, claimed the company had made a number of concessions to the union to keep members at the negotiating table.
Early today, fuel began to run out at service stations across the Lothians as staff and motorists anxiously waited for fresh supplies. As the strike at the Grangemouth refinery entered its second day many more service stations across the Capital were suffering shortages.
Motorists continued to top up their tanks at the weekend with some people taking along extra containers to get as much as they could.
Supplies of diesel were especially low in some parts of the city though it is likely to be replenished by some of the 65,000 tonnes of fuel being shipped in from Europe over the coming days.
Two out of seven fuel tankers heading to Grangemouth with extra fuel from Europe have already arrived in the Forth.
Some stations in the Capital are limiting customers to £20 only, while others are warning drivers not to take their frustrations out on staff after some heated arguments over the pumps.
Both petrol and diesel are selling for as much as £1.25 per litre across the Capital.
The Esso garage at Canonmills has had no diesel since Saturday, while only two petrol pumps were in operation yesterday.
One has a sign saying it is for police and emergency vehicles only. Staff are not expecting any diesel until tomorrow.
A sales advisor said: "People have been buying much more than usual. It's quietened down a bit. We've just got two pumps working."
Supplies were also low at the Shell garage at Abbeyhill. Cashier Mark Somerville said: "We've no V-Power and no diesel. We've run out since I came in at 2.30pm."
The Maybury Shell garage on Glasgow Road had also run out of diesel yesterday.
There were still queues of cars at the Jet Station in Tranent yesterday where they imposed a limit of £20 per customer on Thursday. Sales assistant Heather Brannan said: "We're very busy. I think we'll run out of petrol in about half an hour."
Staff at John Hastie & Son in Prestonpans had been dealing with angry customers since raising the price of petrol to £1.25 on Friday. They were displaying a sign next to the counter reading: "We apologise for the increase in fuel prices. This increase is outwith our control. We have incurred an increase of 17p per litre from our supplier. Please do not abuse staff."
But some drivers were not convinced, and there were raised voices over the pumps when two accused service station staff of "cashing in" on the shortages.
Sean Pringle, 26, a painter and decorator from Port Seton, said he refused to pay the high prices. He said: "It's terrible. They know we've got to pay for it – I need my car for my work."
They were not the only garage with high prices. The Links Road Garage in Port Seton was also charging £1.25 per litre for diesel, although petrol was only £1.14. Managers say they have little choice but to pass on price rises to the customer.
Some supermarkets were continuing to keep prices down, with Asda and Morrisons both charging £1.06 for petrol and £1.16 for diesel.
And there were some signs the panic was calming down, with many forecourts empty in the city.
A sales assistant at the BP garage at Mortonhall said: "People have been panicking for no reason. We're back to normal now - I think everyone's already got a full tank.
"We've got a delivery due today so we're not going to run out."
And despite the fears, most drivers were staying calm. Arek Rybakowski, 26, a chef from Leith, who was filling up his car in Abbeyhill, said: "It's not been a problem finding fuel. I heard they're importing new supplies, so everything's going to be fine."
Hundreds of road haulage companies will stage a protest in London tomorrow against the "rocketing price of diesel".
The three-hour protest, involving Kent hauliers, will include the handing in of a symbolic coffin to the Houses of Parliament.
