DEL.ICIO.USUpdated: 11:35 a.m. September 22, 2008
Gas shortage makes finding fuel a challenge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Gas remained hard to find around much of metro Atlanta on Monday morning, as lingering supply complications in the wake of two hurricanes had many motorists driving miles out of their way in a search for fuel.
Overnight deliveries replenished supplies, at least partially, at some stations that were closed Sunday. But others remained dry. And some that did have fuel, like the Shell station at Clairmont and North Decatur roads near Decatur, were running out as cars lined up during the morning rush hour.
Jessica McGowan/jmcgowan@ajc.com
This Chevron in Buford posted ‘OUT’ signs on all its gasoline pumps, disappointing drivers on Sunday.
Katie Leslie/kleslie@ajc.com
Keith Downs (left) and Tom Hill pumped what remained of regular fuel at the Phillips 66 on Roswell Road and Glenridge Drive Sunday afternoon. Each tank ran out of fuel moments later and station owner Paul Kota said it could be two to three weeks before fuel supplies return to normal.
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“I should be out, maybe before noon,” said manager Andy Jiw, shortly after putting a bag over another nozzle. By 7:30 a.m., cars were lined up five and six deep behind the only two pumps with gas.
Maureen McCarthy, who lives near Emory University, waited in line as the needle on her fuel gauge hovered at empty. She was late for work.
“It’s a nightmare,” she said. “I’ve gone to four different stations. When I saw this one I was like ‘Hallellelujah.’”
State and industry officials say the problem stems from supply interruptions from the Gulf, where refineries are still rebuilding capacity after the double whammy of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and the required use of cleaner-burning fuel in metro Atlanta. That means gas can’t be easily diverted from other areas where supplies are ample.
There were mixed signals about how soon the shortages will abate. Industry officials say refineries are rapidly restoring supply, and state officials say they’re taking steps to boost the flow. Some station owners, however, say they’ve been warned not to expect normal supplies for days to come.
Adding to the frustration, metro Atlantans who find gas are paying well over the national average for it. The average price in the area Monday morning was $4.01 a gallon, about 30 cents higher than the U.S. average, according to AtlantaGasPrices.com.
Spot shortages began more than a week ago but appeared to peak by Sunday evening, when it was hard to find open stations in many areas. Nearly all stations in the Fayetteville and Peachtree City areas, for instance, were gas-less. Earlier Sunday, gas was available at only three of 13 stations along a five-mile stretch of Roswell Road in north Atlanta and Sandy Springs.
Monday morning, outages were scattered among stations throughout Henry County. At the Locust Grove exit off I-75, about half the stations had fuel while the others were tapped out.
BP station clerk Shedrick Fambro said the store expects a delivery of fuel today, but it’s not a sure thing.
“It may be sometime this week, we really couldn’t tell,” Fambro said. “We had 2,500 gallons Saturday and sold out of all but high octane by the afternoon. We were out of the high octane by Sunday.”
Many stations in the Stockbridge area had working pumps, but the Kangroo store on Jodeco Road, selling BP gas, was awaiting a delivery.
“We’re hoping to get some more in today or tomorrow,” said clerk Brenda Singleton.
At least one fuel supplier is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily loosen fuel sulfur standards to restore supplies in metro Atlanta. That way, gas could be trucked in from other cities to metro Atlanta, where cleaner-burning fuel is required because of air quality problems.
Tex Pitfield, president of Saraguay Petroleum Corp., on Friday fired off an e-mail to Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), urging the state to lobby federal officials to allow imports of higher-sulfur fuel.
“The Governor’s office needs to be at this point a leader and stop hiding their head in the sand,” Pitfield wrote.
Bert Brantley, spokesman for Perdue, said the governor’s office is doing all it can, from extending the time gas haulers have on the road to deliver fuel, and increasing the amount they can carry in one trip, to providing as much information to the EPA as possible.
“It’s up to GEFA to decide how bad it is,” Brantley said.
Jill Stuckey, the director of GEFA’s Energy Innovation Center, said she hasn’t heard similar complaints from other suppliers in Georgia.
“We’re living under EPA’s rules right now,” said Stuckey, who works as a liaison between suppliers and critical users such as farmers and hospitals. “If others come forward and say this is too burdensome, we’ll certainly take a look at it.”
Stuckey said the hurricanes hit at a time of year when fuel supplies are already stretched thin. The system is sending fuel oil up to the Northeast, and suppliers in metro Atlanta are switching from summer to winter formula gas. This week, her unit had to arrange a special shipment of fuel to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and Henry County government.
But she said Chevron, Conoco and Marathon Oil are reporting supplies from the Gulf Coast are now at 80 percent, up from just 30 percent last weekend. That should start showing up at the pump soon.
“We’re doing good,” she said. “It’s going to get better.”
Staff writers Katie Leslie and Rachel Pomerance contributed to this story.
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