A new price war has broken out between some of the major fuel retailers - but motorists in Northern Ireland are unlikely to reap many of the benefits.

Morrisons, Shell and Esso – none of whom operate in the Ulster market – have slashed up to 3p a litre off both diesel and petrol in response to the falling cost of oil.

Supermarket chain Asda has also weighed into the war and is now charging 106.9p for petrol and 118.9p for diesel at all its UK filling stations, including all seven of its outlets in Northern Ireland.

And although global BP – the only other rival fuel retailer with a presence here – has added its name to the list of cost-cutters, these price reductions aren’t likely to apply in Northern Ireland as none of the 41 BP sites located locally are company owned.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Luke Bosdet, a spokesman for the AA public af fairs unit, welcomed the price cuts.

“The reduction to 106.9p takes petrol prices down to where they should be,” he said.

“That is largely the price that the UK was paying when oil went through the $100 a barrel in March.

“Anyone else who’s charging above 110p is dragging their feet.”

Retail giant Sainsbury’s last night said there were plans in the pipeline to cut fuel costs at its six filling stations.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, with 12 sites here, last night said it has extended its offer of 5p a litre of petrol or diesel for customers spending at least £50 in store until September 28.

The fuel price cuts follow crude oil’s tumble below 100$ a barrel on the global markets this week.

Motoring groups had lobbied for price cuts to reflect the falling wholesale costs.

And earlier this week, Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister Nigel Dodds urged the big retailers to offer all motorists here their cheapest price available at the pumps.

There has also been a huge response from Belfast Telegraph readers in response to the Price Watch campaign – which has highlighted the vast price differences in the cost of fuel across the province – demanding action to eradicate these anomalies.

Mr Dodds, a Westminster MP, called for parity after new research carried out by the Consumer Council exposed fuel price variations of up to 6p a litre at some supermarket forecourts.

The cuts being implemented by Asda from yesterday (FRI) bring some good news to beleaguered motorists who are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their cars filled up with fuel.

But with only seven stores selling petrol and diesel in Northern Ireland, the majority of motorists will probably have to keep on paying the sky high prices that were highlighted in the Belfast Telegraph this week.

In fact, it means that drivers will now see price differences of more than 9p per litre of fuel across the province, depending on where they fill up.

Trading director at Asda, Darren Blackhurst, last night called on rivals to match its move in the price war.

“We don't hide behind local pricing,” he said.

“Everyone across Northern Ireland benefits when we drop the price of fuel.

“Once again we are calling on other retailers to follow our lead and give drivers a fair deal at the pumps, not just those that live near an Asda.”

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said motorists should see a drop in price in the near future.

“We continue to review petrol prices daily,” she said.

“We aim to provide our customers with the best possible value for their fuel, and we price competitively on a local basis.

“In the coming days we will be dropping the price of fuel at our 6 petrol forecourts in Northern Ireland and right across the UK. In addition, our customers receive Nectar points on all petrol purchases.”

Petrol giant BP, which also began cutting prices by up to 3p per litre at most of its 300 company-owned sites – said that Ulster motorists are not certain to benefit from the price cutting measures.

BP spokesman Mark Salt last night said: “We’re reducing prices at the majority of our company-owned sites. The BP stations in Northern Ireland are run by dealers. We supply their fuel, but they set their own prices. Sometimes they ask us for advice on prices, but we don’t control them.”