'No need to panic:' Pipeline disruption affecting gasoline supply, prices
May 11—MARIETTA — On a typical Monday, Tim Long sells about $1,000 in gasoline at his convenience store, Dixie General Store.
But yesterday, as word began circulating that gas supplies could get tighter and prices might rise, he sold three times that amount.
Sure enough, regular grade gas jumped 14 cents later that day, and customers started lining up at the pumps.
"We have pay-at-the-pump so we can sell gas 24/7," Long said, describing the steady demand for fuel. "And there's been a certain amount of panic."
The rush to the pumps for some was precipitated by a cyber attack late last week on the Colonial Pipeline, which distributes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from 26 refineries along the Gulf Coast to the East Coast. The U.S. East Coast is losing around 1.2 million barrels a day of gasoline supply due to the disruption, according to industry consultant FGE.
Large portions of the Southeast are also serviced by the pipeline. According to GasBuddy, as of Tuesday morning, 7.5% of gas stations in Virginia, 5.4% in North Carolina, 3.3% in Georgia and 2.5% in Florida were out of gas.
"A lot of that is because they're selling three or four times as much gasoline that they normally sell in a given day, because people do panic," said Tom Kloza, a veteran analyst with S&P's Oil Price Information Service. "It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Long usually gets a tanker to refill his pumps once a week, but he expects that to increase if the current pace continues.
"But I don't know if they'll be able to — we'll just have to wait and find out," he said. "I talked to my distributor, and he said that if this goes on for more than a few days, then there is going to be a shortage."
And Mississippi may not be as severely affected as other states. Although some gas stations were out of regular and mid-grade blends on Tuesday morning, premium was readily available.
The states most dependent on the pipeline include Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, Kloza said.
In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Tuesday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves exhorted the public not to panic.
Quote
"In a normal week, less than 30% of Mississippi's fuel comes from the Colonial Pipeline," Reeves wrote. "The vast majority of our fuel (over 70%) comes from at least five other sources, both in and out of state, including the Pascagoula Refinery. Also, necessary state and federal action has already occurred to allow longer hours for fuel to be delivered by tanker.
"So stay calm — buy your normal level of weekly gasoline — and live your life! If everyone takes this approach, this will be behind us with minimal impact."
Meanwhile, the national average retail gasoline price rose to $2.985 a gallon on Tuesday, the highest since November 2014, according to the American Automobile Association.
Lee Murphree, a co-owner of Brooks Oil Co. in Tupelo, said jobbers like her company are being limited to the amount of gas they can get to distribute to their stores and customers. Brooks supplies dozens of stores in the area, including Texaco and Chevron.
"Typically we're on an unlimited allocation, but right now we're limited on what we can get," she said. "And several companies have decided to limit to $25 in gas or so many gallons. We've had lots of calls from people panicking asking to get a load of fuel, but now is not the time to do that. There's no need to panic."
Colonial says it hopes to have the pipeline fully operational again by the end of the week. With Memorial Day weekend approaching in two weeks, and the start of the summer driving season, getting gas to retailers is critical.
"I think things will get back to normal in a week or so; hopefully this is a glitch we can get through," Murphree said. "People just need to calm down and buy what they need. This, too, shall pass. If we can make it through the pandemic, surely we can make it through this.
