LONDON — The British government sought to ease concerns Thursday of a fuel crisis after oil giants BP and ExxonMobil-owned Esso warned they had to ration supplies as a result of a truck driver shortage.

BP said it was reducing gasoline and diesel deliveries and that a “handful” of its stations were closed. ExxonMobil said the labor problem affected a “small number” of the businesses it operates with supermarket chain Tesco.

Industry and government officials worry the news will cause a rush of people speeding to fill up their vehicles, leading to lines and further supply bottlenecks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said the government was making changes to deal with the driver shortages.