Gasoline Shortage Hits Central Texas

As many as 60 Valero Energy stations in the Dallas area ran out of fuel Sunday as the company struggled to deal with a shortage of tankers to supply the stations.

The problem with Dallas gas stations began when a Valero competitor’s terminal, where tankers fill up, ran out of reformulated gasoline, which is required in Houston and Dallas to meet clean-air standards.

Valero experienced a run on its terminal “and ran out of gasoline for about half a day on Sunday,” spokeswoman Mary Rose Brown said, leaving 60 of 103 of the company’s retail stores with no fuel Monday morning. Most were refueled by late Tuesday.

Valero has been saying that gas supplies could be crimped in certain markets as the industry switches to ethanol as an additive and stops making another additive, MTBE.

San Antonio Express