The pipeline section that failed runs from MS to Atlanta. People in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and SC will see the biggest price increases and perhaps gas shortages, said Tom Kloza, chief analyst for the Oil Price Information Service.
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The company has acknowledged that between 252,000 gallons and 336,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from a pipeline near Helena, Alabama, since the spill was first detected September 9.
In response to the shutdown, the governors in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee announced they would lift restrictions on the number of hours that truck drivers delivering fuel can work, in hopes of preventing fuel shortages.
Tom Kloza, an energy analyst with the Oil Price Information Service, said some stations in the Southeast could run short on supply and boost their prices by 20 or 30 cents a gallon. The Colonial pipeline provides almost 40 percent of the region’s gasoline and usually runs at or near full capacity. News outlets report that gasoline prices in some areas of the Carolinas have increased in recent days.
Trade groups for service stations and convenience stores in Tennessee assured consumers that the pumps won’t run dry.
‘Our first priority is maintaining public safety. It’s not clear when the leak started.
Colonial Pipeline has said most of the leaked gasoline is contained in a retention pond near the city of Helena and there’s no public safety concern. “As engineers work to fix pipeline issues, we will continue to monitor the developments in the region”.
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It had previously estimated a full restart of Line 1 by this weekend, but work was delayed on Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning due to gasoline vapors on the site, the company said. The company said fuel shippers were also sending tankers to supply markets along the East Coast.
