Southeast US retail fuel delivery challenge grows

Market: Oil products
12/05/21

Fuel retailers in the US southeast are facing a second day of dwindling supply and strained delivery logistics as consumers continue to fill up as Colonial Pipeline's main gasoline and diesel lines remains shut for a sixth day.

"We don't have a ‘supply' problem, we have a ‘delivery' problem exacerbated by panic buying," Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama president Bart Fletcher said. Overall product availability in the state was still solid, he said.

Fuel supplies were adequate at terminals in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina, according to David Alexander, president of fuel distributor JT Alexander & Son in a televised interview, but 40pc of the locations served by the company were without fuel.

"We're having to take tankers and go to multiple locations to get our customers fuel," Alexander said. "That pipe's got to get going in the next day or two or we will be in a mess,"

Oklahoma-based Love's Travel Stops said 22 of its locations in the southeastern US were temporarily out of gasoline, with another eight sites without diesel fuel in stock. The company listed 15 locations in Georgia, 12 travel centers in Virginia, 10 sites in South Carolina and another eight locations in North Carolina at-risk of seeing fuel outages.

Tennessee-based Pilot Flying J, with more than 750 locations in 44 states, said 17 of its locations had no diesel fuel, five sites had no gasoline available, while another three of its sites had no gasoline or diesel.

Fuel store operator RaceTrac, which more than 750 locations in five southern states, continued to say today that temporary fuel outages were occurring at locations in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Colonial Pipeline said yesterday the company had begun a phased recovery from a ransomware attack that started last week. A restart decision was expected today.

Regulators have waived a number of fuel and transport rules to help ease supply constraints, including allowing for larger fuel shipments by truck and allowing for longer driver shifts.

By Jason Metko

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Shell and Prax call off deal on German refinery stake

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Trump backs new deal to avoid shutdown: Update

19/12/24

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19/12/24

Trump backs new deal to avoid shutdown: Update

Adds updates throughout Washington, 19 December (Argus) — US president-elect Donald Trump is offering his support for a rewritten spending bill that would avoid a government shutdown but leave out a provision authorizing year-round 15pc ethanol gasoline (E15) sales. The bill — which Republicans rewrote today after Trump attacked an earlier bipartisan agreement — would avoid a government shutdown starting Saturday, deliver agricultural aid and provide disaster relief. Trump said the bill was a "very good deal" that would also include a two-year suspension of the "very unnecessary" ceiling on federal debt, until 30 January 2027. "All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote 'YES' for this Bill, TONIGHT!" Trump wrote in a social media post. Passing the bill would require support from Democrats, who are still reeling after Trump and his allies — including Tesla chief executive Elon Musk — upended a spending deal they had spent weeks negotiating with US House speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). Democrats have not yet said if they would vote against the new agreement. "We are prepared to move forward with the bipartisan agreement that we thought was negotiated in good faith with House Republicans," House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said earlier today. That earlier deal would have kept the government funded through 14 March, in addition to providing a one-year extension to the farm bill, $100bn in disaster relief and $10bn in aid for farmers. The bill would also provide a waiver that would avoid a looming ban on summertime sales of E15 across much of the US. Ethanol industry officials said they would urge lawmakers to vote against any package without the E15 provision. "Pulling E15 out of the bill makes absolutely no sense and is an insult to America's farmers and renewable fuel producers," Renewable Fuels Association chief executive Geoff Cooper said. If no agreement is reached by Friday at 11:59pm ET, federal agencies would have to furlough millions of workers and curtail services, although some agencies are able to continue operations in the event of a short-term funding lapse. Air travel is unlikely to face immediate interruptions because key federal workers are considered "essential," but some work on permits, agricultural and import data, and regulations could be curtailed. The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has funding to get through a "short-term" shutdown but could be affected by a longer shutdown, chairman Willie Phillips said. The US Department of Energy expects "no disruptions" if funding lapses for 1-5 days, according to its shutdown plan. The US Environmental Protection Agency would furlough about 90pc of its nearly 17,000 staff in the event of a shutdown, according to a plan it updated earlier this year. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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US Congress passes waterways bill

19/12/24

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19/12/24

US Congress passes waterways bill

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Viewpoint: Politics, economy key to bitumen recovery

19/12/24

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19/12/24

Viewpoint: Politics, economy key to bitumen recovery

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Reliability drives New Zealand power mix: Minister

19/12/24

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19/12/24

Reliability drives New Zealand power mix: Minister

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