Yemen Drones, Yellowhammer And Why IP Matters

Although the impact of the drone attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities may hit other countries harder than the UK (with Saudi oil accounting for just 3% of British oil imports in 2017), significant disruptions to our oil industry may result from matters much closer to home.

The Operation Yellowhammer document discussing the potential consequences of a no-deal Brexit was officially published last week in response to a request from the House of Commons. The version published has its fifteenth paragraph redacted; however, an earlier version of the document had been leaked in August, and commentators have been quick to consult it to see what paragraph 15 said there.

In summary, the leaked version of paragraph 15 notes that if the EU retains fuel tariffs (as it almost certainly will, because it has other borders than that with the UK to consider) whilst the UK government follows its plan to set fuel import tariffs to zero, exporting fuel to the EU would become uncompetitive, resulting in refinery closures and/or transitions to import terminals and...