Gasoline shortages in the Southeastern United States (September 2008)

Gasoline shortages in the Southeastern United States (September 2008)

In September 2008 many areas in the Southeastern United States experienced severe gasoline shortages due to the disruptive influence of hurricanes Gustav and especially Ike on oil refineries and pipelines in the region, most particularly in those cities, towns, areas, and regions supplied by gasoline from Texas, where many refineries are located. It is the lack of production at those facilities, and not any problem with transport, which has caused the shortages.

In some areas of the Southeast panic was evident [http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE48N99720080924?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews] as consumers drove to many fuel stations and found all of them to be without gasoline. In many places very long lines formed outside of fuel stations that had gasoline, and some people waited in lines for hours to fill up the gas tank in their vehicles.

In areas places the shortages were only sporadic, while in others all of the gas stations within a large radius were completely without gasoline leaving the local population in effect stranded. Stations which receive deliveries via tanker truck are often out again within a few hours. Prices for gasoline are also running at least 10% above the national average in the Southeast, due at least in part to tanker drivers having to wait often hours at a time for fuel, while still on the payroll.

This has had an impact in major metropolitan areas in the region, including metro Atlanta (the largest), metro Nashville, and metro Charlotte, as well as smaller cities such as Asheville, Knoxville, and Spartanburg. All of these are areas which receive their gasoline from the parallel Colonial Pipeline and Plantation Pipe Line, and the spur lines from them. As of September 29th, the pipelines were operating at "pre-hurricane levels" and 80% capacity (respectively), however the demand is still so high (due to empty tanks and those unnecessarily "topping-off" their tanks) because of the shortage that the situation is unlikely to return to normal for several more days. In addition, there is a lag of several days between when the fuel is put into the line and when it finally arrives in receiving locations. Areas further down the pipelines toward the Northeast U.S. also receive fuel from other places via ship, thus the pipeline problem was not a serious issue there. Florida also receives fuel through its many seaports, as do cities like Charleston, Savannah, and Wilmington, and thus there was also no problem in coastal areas.

All deliveries in metro Atlanta come from a tank farm in Doraville, where tanker truck drivers were waiting for the limited supply of gasoline, much as end users were doing at gas stations. The governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, asked the Environmental Protection Agency for a waiver of rules which require smog-reducing low-sulfur fuels to be used in the summer months around Atlanta. After it was approved by the EPA, this allowed the regular winter blend used year-round in other places to begin early, instead of October. However, the governor was criticized for waiting so long to make the request.

External links

* http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/us/30gas.html?ref=us
* http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-09-28-Gas-shortage_N.htm
* http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7824487
* http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iXL53Rj9GZchAO3DZxjwZFHHjRFAD93GKPBO0
* http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-gasoline-fear-factor,0,2371168.story


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