[Leanan]

Gas shortages hit the East Coast

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ome gasoline distribution terminals from Virginia to Massachusetts are seeing shortages as the industry phases out a water-polluting additive, the U.S. Energy Department said on Thursday.

The Energy Department has reported shortages at terminals near Richmond, Virginia, as well as the Tidewater area near Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Beach which distribute gasoline to service stations.

The terminals, which hold millions of gallons of gasoline in giant tanks, distribute supplies from refineries to gas stations.

Northern Virginia, Baltimore and Boston are also seeing shortages, the department's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability said.

The Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area has some of the highest retail gasoline prices in the country, with pump prices above $3 a gallon at many stations for regular unleaded fuel.

The National Association of Convenience Stores, whose 2,200 member stores account for 75 percent of U.S. gasoline sales, also said members had reported shortages at terminals around Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia.

[alecifel]

While it is claimed that this is caused by a shortage of ethanol additive, here's the gnawing problem: Did these producers, who happen to do this day in and day out for years on end, just not order ethanol today? Did all the trucks break down en route? Or is there not enough ethanol to do it?

Better question: with these shortages hitting while our inventories are low, and our refining capacity is already strained.. will we be able to fill the gap? Last hurricane season we had to ship in imported gasoline (remember the price?)

Colin Campbell predicted conventional oil would peak on 2006 and world oil in 2007.

Guess what.

[Eli]

The article says that the problem is not because of a lack of ethanol but because they must scrub out the old tanks that use to hold mtbe gasoline in them. They said the ethanol based gasoline would dissolve the build that is on the sides of the tank.

But that is still curious because I remember hearing that the supply of ethanol was a big problem for the refineries. Is this just another creative excuse?

[Leanan]

More links:

Local stations run out of gasoline

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')everal local gas stations ran out of fuel on Thursday as gas prices also soared in the Delaware Valley.

Shortages were reported in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon.

An NBC 10 news team was at a Wilmington, Del., gas station on Thursday afternoon, where reporter Bill Baldini informed drivers pulling up to the pumps that the station was on empty.

Closer to home for NBC10.com, a Luk Oil station just blocks from our station was out of gas as news trucks hit the street to report the Thursday afternoon news. Stations on the Admiral Wilson Boulevard in New Jersey and in several Pennsylvania areas are also out of fuel, or only selling premium fuel, AAA told NBC 10.

[Eli]

Oil price spike and now stations already running out of gas.

This is just Nuckin Futs!

[Dan1195]

What I dont understand is they knew this changeover was going to occur a while ago. I would have assumed this could have been done without having to worry about stations running out of gas. Is this purely the result of the MBTE/ethanol switch or does all the refinery maintenance have anything to do with this?

[Rishabh87]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('alecifel', 'W')hile it is claimed that this is caused by a shortage of ethanol additive, here's the gnawing problem: Did these producers, who happen to do this day in and day out for years on end, just not order ethanol today? Did all the trucks break down en route? Or is there not enough ethanol to do it?

Better question: with these shortages hitting while our inventories are low, and our refining capacity is already strained.. will we be able to fill the gap? Last hurricane season we had to ship in imported gasoline (remember the price?)

Colin Campbell predicted conventional oil would peak on 2006 and world oil in 2007.

Guess what.

[PrairieMule]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Eli', 'T')he article says that the problem is not because of a lack of ethanol but because they must scrub out the old tanks that use to hold mtbe gasoline in them. They said the ethanol based gasoline would dissolve the build that is on the sides of the tank.

But that is still curious because I remember hearing that the supply of ethanol was a big problem for the refineries. Is this just another creative excuse?

[Eli]

Look no worries about those gas shortages AAA says they are only going ot be temporary,.... by that of course they mean like 30 days.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')ossi said the shortages were expected to be temporary.

By temporary, AAA and other experts said the shortage situation could be for as long as 30 days.

[TheInterloafer]

Is the MBTE/ethanol transition an annual thing or some kind of one-time-only deal?

[Eli]

It is one time thing, the Gov. is asking everyone to switch to ethanol as a gas additive instead of MTBE. I believe MTBE took the place of lead in gasoline.

MTBE is very soluble and leaks out of underground gas tanks very easily and can get into the ground water and cause contamination problems.

[Jester]

The shortages are pure ineptitude. It's like rotating stock in a store. They should have been doing this is phases so less tanks down at any one time so there would be no disruption like this.

[Shadizar]

This reminds me of a story on CNBC the other day. There was a gas station in New Jersey (I think it was there) that was charging ~$4.50 a gallon for gas. After they reported on the high prices there the station prices went down to ~3.50. The owners said the price was set by the distributors and the owner...

The point of the coverage was an example of price gouging. I have to wonder now if it was only (or at least partially) about supply discrepancies.
Much better to have gas prices at 4.50 or 3.50 than not at all....

Personally I wonder if our current gasoline inventory numbers are not a reflection of the severe shortfall of gasoline from the Hurricanes. I don't recall that those inventory drawdowns were ever really accounted for.

I am also wondering if the changes over to Ethanol have not forced distributors to actually read the guages instead of relying on "averages."

Doesn't really matter though, these recent drawdowns on inventory are below where we should be running up to the driving season in the U.S (http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/4/ ... /8204#more).

-Shadizar

[Starvid]

By the way, do you know what gasoline costs in Norway?

$8,84 per gallon So don't complain so much.

And if that's not enough car taxes are very high.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')ake, for instance, the North American starting price for the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, $111,600. Buyers will likely drive away with about a $130,000 deal. In Europe the base price is e101,200 (about $120,000). In Norway, after the importer has its way with setting the price, and after tacking on the 24 percent sales tax, then adding the engine dimension surtax and finally the horsepower surtax, my Norwegian friend says the price will come to roughly e250,000, or $297,000.

Only Denmark rivals Norway for this insanity that, in the end, is geared to keeping motorized traffic and pollution to a minimum while collecting the huge luxury taxes. On the other hand, the environment in these extreme societies is crystal clean and the roads are perfect.

[TorrKing]

Starvid

I have no problem believing that Americans could pay as much per gallon as we do. But only after a major adjustment to lifestyle and a move towards greener technology. And I personally don't think the US want to or can (financially) make these changes. It is too late for them...

Even 2/3s of our price would break their economy to pieces. Everything would become too expensive and almost everything would become unprofitable.

If the price gets a little higher our economy will suffer as well. Since everything has become centralized, moving the food back and forth will make everything, for instance food, exceedingly expensive!

Torjus Gaaren

[thor]

It cannot be expected that fuel prices rise to European levels in a very short period. The US economy is based on very cheap fuel and that everyone can drive a car to move around. Without the car, people will be stranded, I think. The car in the US is like a bicycle in Europe.

[SoothSayer]

>> The car in the US is like a bicycle in Europe.

Huh? Where? Holland?

Certainly not in the UK or Germany.

[Leanan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jester', 'T')hey should have been doing this is phases so less tanks down at any one time so there would be no disruption like this.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Torjus', 'S')tarvid

I have no problem believing that Americans could pay as much per gallon as we do. But only after a major adjustment to lifestyle and a move towards greener technology. And I personally don't think the US want to or can (financially) make these changes. It is too late for them...

Even 2/3s of our price would break their economy to pieces. Everything would become too expensive and almost everything would become unprofitable.

If the price gets a little higher our economy will suffer as well. Since everything has become centralized, moving the food back and forth will make everything, for instance food, exceedingly expensive!

Torjus Gaaren

[Novus]

These shortages proove there is no gouging going on. In fact fear of gouging has lead prices to be set too low and has allowed demand to overshoot suppies.