Southeast gas shortages should ease soon

WASHINGTON – Here’s a little good news for motorists who’ve waited in line at the pump: Gas shortages in the Southeast should be easing within the next two weeks.

Media General talked with experts in the oil and travel industries as well as in state and federal government to find out what caused the problem and what to expect next.

What caused the shortage?

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The two storms disrupted production along the Gulf Coast, home to more than half of the country’s refining capacity, said Ron Planting, an economist with the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s trade association.

Evacuations, damage to the refineries in Louisiana and Texas and the time it took to get the refineries back in operation reduced the amount of oil being produced from 18 million barrels per day to 14 million barrels a day, Planting said.

Why the Southeast?

The Southeast – especially Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee -- is feeling the pinch more than other areas of the country because the region relies heavily for gas on the Colonial Pipeline, which begins in Houston and crosses the Southeast.

The pipeline began operating at pre-hurricane levels on Monday, but it takes days for the gas to move north from the Gulf.

Other parts of the country rely more on imports and other refineries.

Are drivers partly to blame?

Yes, experts say consumers exacerbated the fuel shortage by hoarding and topping off their gas tanks. As drivers did that, retailers and distributors ran out of gas or refused to pay skyrocketing prices to refill their supplies.

“It’s made recovering that much harder,” said Clay Ingram, a spokesman for AAA Alabama.

As hard as it may be for people living through a gas shortage, experts recommend buying gas as you normally would, conserving and carpooling.

Which areas are hardest hit?

In Alabama: Anniston, Oxford and along the Interstate 20 corridor.

In Georgia: Athens, Atlanta, Dalton, Gainesville, in rural areas, in north and northeast Georgia and along the I-20 corridor.

In North Carolina: Charlotte and the western part of the state

In South Carolina: Greenville, Spartanburg and the northwest part of the state.

In Tennessee: Chattanooga. Supply has greatly increased in Knoxville and Nashville.

Other areas are experiencing sporadic shortages.

When will it end?

Most estimate within about two weeks. Thirteen of the 15 refineries that shut down are back up, said Healy Baumgardner, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy.

As refineries have come back online, they will produce more oil, increasing the supply.

“It’s really important for folks to not panic and not hoard,” said Troy Green, a spokesman for AAA National. “It’s going to get better.”

What are elected officials doing about the gas shortage?

The federal government has released a small amount - 5.7 million barrels - of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to refineries, including 900,000 barrels released Wednesday. Georgia officials have been pushing for additional releases because despite the increase in production in the Gulf, shortages still exist.

Federal restrictions on fuel blends have been lifted in the affected states as well as limits on the number of hours fuel tank drivers can be on the road in an effort to get gasoline to the Southeast.

Georgia lifted restrictions Tuesday on out-of-state fuel haulers to allow them to deliver gas to the state. And in North Carolina, oil companies with port terminals have agreed to provide additional gas to distributors in western North Carolina to ease shortages.

The state’s two Republican senators – Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole - are calling for the DOE to tap into the International Energy Agency’s emergency fuel supply, as was done after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But energy officials have yet to do so.

Contact Amy Dominello at 202-662-7671 or adominello@mediageneral.com