Denver running on empty

Denver is seeing a severe crunch in gasoline supply, and pump prices likely will top $3 a gallon in the coming days, industry sources said.

Oil refinery problems in Texas and Oklahoma – which supply Colorado with gasoline through pipelines – are the root cause of the shortage. And the situation is being exacerbated by rising demand ahead of the busy summer driving season.


Pump prices could move toward $4 a gallon this summer if an event such as a severe hurricane or political crisis in an oil-producing nation further squeezes already tight gasoline supplies, analysts said.

“There is no gas in Denver,” said Bryant Gimlin, energy risk manager at Fort Lupton-based Gray Oil Co., a wholesale distributor of gasoline and diesel. “The situation here is worse than how it was after Hurricane Katrina.”

Rocky Mountain News