Diesel Shortage in the Oil Patch -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here. (This is a regional link which will break soon; it was sent into me by CRC.)

Believe it or not, America’s biggest oil-producing oil patch has been experiencing a fuel shortage for the last four months.

“I haven’t seen it this bad since the ’70s,” states Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association.

While the average consumer may not have been aware, partly because this is mainly a diesel fuel shortage, and partly because of efforts made by Rud and his constituents, Rud does believe that soon, everyone will notice that there is a problem.

According to Rud, the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association has been working overtime to absorb the brunt of this fuel shortage by issuing ‘hours of service’ waivers to drivers bringing in fuel.

“Right now, semis are sitting in lines for three to four hours and sometimes the entire day to wait for fuel.

The ‘hours of service’ waiver gives fuel drivers additional time to bring in fuel,” states Rud.

According to former truck driver, Roger Maki, this is a huge help.

“It takes time to get to Billings or Mandan,” states Maki. “Without the waiver, a driver may only be able to bring in one or two loads of fuel. But, with the waiver, they can bring in an extra load of fuel, which really helps.”

And, with the weather becoming colder, both Maki and Rud state that marketers will be switching from the number two diesel to the number one.

This has been reported earlier, but this article provides more insight to the problem and how it is being managed.

The interesting thing is that if the country was not in a recession (depression in some areas), the country as a whole would be facing a shortage of not only diesel, but also gasoline.