Hurricane Florence prompts EPA fuel waiver

US environmental officials waived summer fuel requirements three days early as Hurricane Florence churned toward the North and South Carolina coasts.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waived federal requirements to sell summer blend gasoline with a lower Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) ahead of the category 4 storm's expected landfall late this week.

The waiver allows the sale of winter-grade gasoline more prone to evaporation in summer months, as well as blends of summer and winter gasoline, in North and South Carolina evacuation zones. The summer fuel season ends 15 September.

Florence was in position to strengthen as it moved from south of Bermuda toward evacuating US Atlantic coastlines. The storm was forecast to strengthen to 145 mph winds before weakening as it hit the coast. Hurricane Florence was shifting south compared to early tracks that estimated the storm moving up into Virginia.

Lashing winds risk power outages, and expected heavy rains could further disrupt fuel distribution in the region.

North and South Carolina operate no major US refineries but serve as a throughway to major refined products pipelines supplying the Atlantic coast. Both Kinder Morgan's 600,000 b/d Plantation Pipeline and Colonial Pipeline's 2.5mn b/d trunk line system move US Gulf coast refinery production through South Carolina to Greensboro terminals before continuing into Virginia. Colonial's system delivers into the New York Harbor market.

Colonial today expected to continue operating through the storm.