Summer fuel shortages, spikes possible: Bodman

BATAVIA, IL – U.S. consumers may face gasoline shortages or price hikes at the pump this summer due to fuel additive changes at refineries and a likely strong hurricane season, the U.S. Energy Secretary said on Friday.

“We face a combination of factors that could mean some localized shortages,”
Samuel Bodman said in an interview with Reuters, adding that the markets should sort themselves out quickly.

Bodman spoke with Reuters during a visit to Fermilab, the largest U.S. laboratory for studying particle physics, which is located in Batavia, Illinois.

Bodman said with U.S. refineries running at 86 percent capacity following the battering they received from hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, high crude oil prices and an annual U.S. shift to summer gasoline, the switch by refineries to ethanol as a fuel additive from MTBE could result in shortages in some areas this summer.

Reuters