WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | SC gas stations dealing with supply disruptions

SC gas stations dealing with supply disruptions

(Columbia) Aug. 31, 2005 - The effects of Hurricane Katrina are causing concerns about gas supply problems in the Midlands.

There is some news of relief from the supply issues. A spokesman for the South Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association says Colonial Pipeline is restarting its pipeline Wednesday. Colonial's pipeline is one of the state's major fuel sources.

They should start back up Wednesday evening at 25 to 35 percent of normal capacity. By this weekend the pipeline should be up to 50 to 60 percent of normal capacity. This should help with fuel supplies to the majority of Midlands gas stations, but shortages will still exist.

Hurricane Katrina shut down two pipelines funneling fuel to South Carolina. That's limiting how much gas some stations can get.

WIS saw two Midlands stations Wednesday that were out of regular gas. People in the industry encourage consumers to conserve gas by limiting travel for now, or carpooling. They also say it's important not to panic.

Mike McMenamin is a gas station owner, "I don't think we have a gas shortage, I think we have a disruption in supply. Our main problem is refineries don't have power."

At the Raceway on Highway One in West Columbia, drivers handled a dilemma. The station ran out of regular and plus gas. The only kind left was premium at $2.89 a gallon. When some got a look at the covered pumps, they kept going, "It's just too expensive." 

A similar situation happened at a station on Forest Drive. Only high grade was left.

McMenamin has gas at his station on Gervais Street for now. But he's only getting a fraction of what he ordered, because of limited supply, "Five hours ago, I probably said no, I don't think I'll run out of gas, but based on the demand and volume, I might be out for a time like three, four, five or six hours."

Columbia Mayor Bob Coble says the wholesaler the city buys from is running out of gas. He's planning to meet Thursday morning to talk about a contingency plan in case things get worse.

South Carolina Governor Sanford has issued a statement, “It’s important for everyone to remain calm and patient, and to conserve gas while we continue to work toward determining how to best address this situation.”

He says, “Right now, we’re doing a couple of things to respond. One, we’re asking all state agencies to cut non-essential travel. Two, we’re working with folks in the gas industry and with the federal government to find ways to keep gas flowing into South Carolina .”

President Bush is opening the stragetic petroleum reserve to help supply, possibly by this weekend. AAA says prices should get better then.

One-fourth of the petroleum consumed in the United States comes from the Gulf of Mexico and 40 percent of the nation's refining ability is in the states that were hit by Katrina.

The US Coast Guard received reports that oil platforms were adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, an area that usually pumps about 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil.

At least nine Gulf Coast refineries had to shut down or reduce operations on Monday. The Department of Energy indicates through preliminary analyses that approximately 2,000 out of 6,500 oil and gas platforms may be affected by the storm.

The price of a gallon of gasoline at the supply terminals on South Carolina 's pipelines has increased dramatically since Monday. Sims Floyd of the Petroleum Marketers association says some South Carolina pumps could actually run dry, "You'll see some stations possibly that will run out of fuel, maybe not forever, so to speak, but maybe for a day or half a day."

Any short-term shortage is too long for some. Driver Jeremy Washington says, "I have a son, I want to take him to school. I have a mother. She might need a ride to work."

And his emotions echo those of many worried South Carolinians.

Meanwhile, prices are also a worry, jumping about 30 cents since Monday. So LaFaye Cooper uses a different way to get to lunch, "Gas is so high, I choose to walk."

Reported by Angie Goff & Jennifer Miskewicz

Updated 5:30pm by Chantelle Janelle