Gas Lines? Spot Shortages?

BP gas stations in Boston area fear dry pumps will ruin business -- Boston Globe

Updates

April 13, 2012: According to the Boston Globe (print edition, no link), the problem with the BP gas stations appears to be unique to BP. Apparently the problem stems from financial problems of a Rhode Island gasoline supplier under contract with Getty Petroleum Marketing, Inc. Getty Petroleum filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. According to the Globe, gasoline supplies are plentiful in the region, which has several thousand gas stations -- 2,300 in Massachusetts alone. So, not to worry, plentiful gasoline in the Boston area. Plenty of oil at Cushing. And the price of gasoline flirts with $4/gallon. Plenty of oil. Plenty of gasoline.

One BP service station owner was quoted: "A lot of my business starts with someone coming in for gas. So no gas, no business." Okay.

 

Original Post

Earlier today I mentioned to my wife that the electronic sign posting gasoline prices at the BP station across the street from where we are staying here in a Boston suburb must be burned out or under repair. I had not seen the electronic price posted for the past three days.

My wife told me that the local news reported that BP was having distribution problems in the "area" and that non-company owned BP service stations were not getting their deliveries. And indeed, that's what is going on at the station across the street. Orange traffic cones have been placed preventing traffic from driving into the fueling stations.

I have no idea if this has anything to do with three refineries shutting down in the Philadelphia area and the press reporting that up to 50% of refining capacity in the northeast had been taken out of production. In my mind, it doesn't matter who owns the refineries or which companies are shutting down refineries. Once the gasoline leaves the refinery, it's a commodity, it's fungible and could end up anywhere...or not end up somewhere.

So, time to start googling "gasoline shortages 2012 gas lines."

From NJ.com: 

The region will have lost almost half of its refining capacity in six months by July, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on Energy Department statistics. Requests to send gasoline on Colonial Pipeline Co.’s link from the Gulf Coast to the eastern U.S. have exceeded capacity since August, company data show.

From :CNNMoney:

And that could drive up gas prices, though the impact should be temporary -- eventually, refiners in the Gulf Coast, Europe or Newfoundland would seek to take advantage of the higher prices by shipping gas to needed areas. [Comment: superficial reporting -- how do they plan to get that gasoline there -- in the earlier story, gasoline requests have exceeded capacity since August, 2011.] 

From WesternFreePress.com: More refineries could close.

The "hits" all have the word "shortage" or "shortages." Interestingly enough, the articles only mention "higher prices"; they mention nothing about gas lines. But when 50% of regional refining is lost, requests for gasoline exceed pipeline capacity, and human nature to hoard if perceived shortages, one wonders if we might see gas lines on Memorial Day in the northeast.

By the way, one of the best articles on the issue is from the National Geographic, dated April 4, 2012.