Colonial Pipeline Issues Likely to Disrupt Gas Supply on East Coast

[cpzilliacus]

Wall Street Journal: Colonial Pipeline Issues Likely to Disrupt Gas Supply on East Coast

The partial closing of a major pipeline running from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast could reduce gas supply and raise prices at the pump in several U.S. states during the next few days.

Parts of Colonial Pipeline Co.'s Line 1, a major artery that delivers gasoline from refineries at the Gulf Coast to the East Coast, have been closed this week because of a 6,000 barrel leak that was discovered Friday.

The company initially expected to have the pipeline running again by this weekend, according to a company bulletin released Tuesday and viewed by The Wall Street Journal. But repair work has been interrupted by bad weather that has caused gasoline fumes to settle over the site. Colonial said it now anticipates fully restarting the pipeline next week.

The pipeline is especially important to markets in southeastern states. With supplies tightening, retail gasoline prices could spike by 5 to 20 cents a gallon, on average, in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.

[bandit957]

Any excuse to raise gas prices.

[SidS1045]

Any excuse to raise gas prices.

Not just any excuse.  Supply and demand.

(As in:  "We have all the SUPPLY...so we can DEMAND whatever the **** we want!")

[The Nature Boy]

And they're surprised that people are protecting the pipeline in North Dakota......

[briantroutman]

Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia

"...and still be predominantly lower than they are in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts...nearly any "East Coast"  state that isn't in The South or whose name isn't New Jersey."  

[The Nature Boy]

Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia

"...and still be predominantly lower than they are in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts...nearly any "East Coast"  state that isn't in The South or whose name isn't New Jersey."

If you're driving from south to north, New Jersey's gas prices are a literal oasis.

[xcellntbuy]

Here in middle Georgia, the price was $1.899 last Friday.  It spiked this week to $2.259 as early as Friday morning, then dropped to $2.099 on my way home this afternoon.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The gouging has yet to begin in my area, but a nearby East Coast station went from $1.899 to $2.199 overnight. Some Sheetz stations in NC are not selling gas at all at the moment per one of my friends who passed through and attempted to stop at one for gas.

[cpzilliacus]

The gouging has yet to begin in my area, but a nearby East Coast station went from $1.899 to $2.199 overnight. Some Sheetz stations in NC are not selling gas at all at the moment per one of my friends who passed through and attempted to stop at one for gas.

Sheetz not having gasoline available is almost sacrilege.

[hbelkins]

The gouging has yet to begin in my area, but a nearby East Coast station went from $1.899 to $2.199 overnight. Some Sheetz stations in NC are not selling gas at all at the moment per one of my friends who passed through and attempted to stop at one for gas.

Sheetz not having gasoline available is almost sacrilege.

Sheetz can usually be counted on to be a low price leader in whatever market it's in, but I noticed a couple of exceptions earlier this week.

Gas prices in Beckley, WV were consistently $2.259, including the Sheetz locations at the Corridor L interchange and on the commercial strip on Eisenhower Drive. However, the downtown Sheetz was at $2.359, while every other station in the immediate vicinity (including a GoMart on the other side of the street) was a dime cheaper.

And at Princeton, WV, Sheetz was about a dime more expensive than the Murphy Oil (Walmart) location just across I-77, behind the WV welcome center.

[cpzilliacus]

The gouging has yet to begin in my area, but a nearby East Coast station went from $1.899 to $2.199 overnight. Some Sheetz stations in NC are not selling gas at all at the moment per one of my friends who passed through and attempted to stop at one for gas.

Sheetz not having gasoline available is almost sacrilege.

Sheetz can usually be counted on to be a low price leader in whatever market it's in, but I noticed a couple of exceptions earlier this week.

Gas prices in Beckley, WV were consistently $2.259, including the Sheetz locations at the Corridor L interchange and on the commercial strip on Eisenhower Drive. However, the downtown Sheetz was at $2.359, while every other station in the immediate vicinity (including a GoMart on the other side of the street) was a dime cheaper.

And at Princeton, WV, Sheetz was about a dime more expensive than the Murphy Oil (Walmart) location just across I-77, behind the WV welcome center.

Curious.  Sheetz usually is as cheap as nearby truck stops when it comes to Diesel fuel (sometimes Sam's can be slightly cheaper than truck stops and Sheetz, but there is not always a Sam's nearby).

[ARMOURERERIC]

About 1/4 of the gas stations in Hickory are out of gas.  Many social groups I hang with cancelled activities in Asheville today due to lack of fuel, from what I understand the shortage is especially severe there.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The gouging has begun in Richmond. Costco and Sam's Club are still $1.859 but a number of stations (including all the Wawa stations) have jumped above $2.05. The East Coast I mentioned in my earlier post has dropped to $2.099...which is about average for the area now. A few stations in the area are approaching $2.20, though.

Of course, this doesn't include the infamous Shell at the intersection of US 1 and JEB Stuart Parkway, where regular unleaded is $2.479 (that particular station is always 40-50 cents above the regional average...but people still get gas there for some reason).

[LM117]

Damn near all of the gas stations in Danville were empty when I went out early this morning. I finally found one that still had gas on Franklin Turnpike (VA-41) near the Piney Forest Road (US-29 Business) intersection. It was obvious they were the only station in the area with gas since lines at the pumps were backed up onto VA-41. It was $1.89 this morning. It's gone up since then.

[epzik8]

Colonial has property not too far from me in Maryland. Not far from that property is a right-of-way belonging to Columbia Gas Transmission's MA pipeline. I live about 1,000 feet from Line MA. A parallel line, MB, was laid down a few years ago despite opposition. Also, my dad lives less than two miles from Transco, which connects the Gulf to New York City or something like that. All I know is it passes through my own Harford County.

[freebrickproductions]

Gas is already rising here in Alabama. IMHO, we probably wouldn't have to deal with leaking pipelines if oil companies started shipping more oil by rail. However, they don't want to do that because it's cheaper for them to spend money building a pipeline and then not maintaining it until a problem develops, and whenever an inspector comes along, they just throw him a party and send him on his merry way without actually giving him a good look at the pipeline.

[hbelkins]

Gas is already rising here in Alabama. IMHO, we probably wouldn't have to deal with leaking pipelines if oil companies started shipping more oil by rail. However, they don't want to do that because it's cheaper for them to spend money building a pipeline and then not maintaining it until a problem develops, and whenever an inspector comes along, they just throw him a party and send him on his merry way without actually giving him a good look at the pipeline.

Any ETA on when things will get back to normal? I'm probably going to the Birmingham meet in a couple of weeks, but don't want to venture south if gas is going to be hard to find, or exorbitantly priced.

Also, I saw on Facebook that some sort of controversy had flared when a station posted a price of $9.99 and got accused of gouging. Then they explained that this is an industry standard to post a $9.99 price whenever they are out of gas. I'd never heard that before. Is that true, or just a lie they made up to cover getting caught profiteering?

[lordsutch]

The bypass pipe is supposed to be operating tomorrow, so everything should be back to "normal" soon. That said if people keep engaging in panic buying even after supplies are restored, prices will stay higher due to increased demand over normal.

I don't think anywhere around here ran out completely, but a local Murphy USA did run out of mid-grade for some reason (I thought mid-grade was just a pump blend of premium and regular rather than a separate tank... but apparently not).

[Brandon]

Gas is already rising here in Alabama. IMHO, we probably wouldn't have to deal with leaking pipelines if oil companies started shipping more oil by rail. However, they don't want to do that because it's cheaper for them to spend money building a pipeline and then not maintaining it until a problem develops, and whenever an inspector comes along, they just throw him a party and send him on his merry way without actually giving him a good look at the pipeline.

Do you realize how much more dangerous it is to ship oil via rail!?!  Does Lac Magentic, Quebec mean anything to you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac-M%C3%A9gantic_rail_disaster

Pipelines are by far and away safer.

[cpzilliacus]

Gas is already rising here in Alabama. IMHO, we probably wouldn't have to deal with leaking pipelines if oil companies started shipping more oil by rail. However, they don't want to do that because it's cheaper for them to spend money building a pipeline and then not maintaining it until a problem develops, and whenever an inspector comes along, they just throw him a party and send him on his merry way without actually giving him a good look at the pipeline.

Do you realize how much more dangerous it is to ship oil via rail!?!  Does Lac Magentic, Quebec mean anything to you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac-M%C3%A9gantic_rail_disaster

Pipelines are by far and away safer.

Agreed.  And pipelines move a lot of product, on what amounts to a non-stop trip.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Alabama oil leak causing higher gas prices in Maryland

The pipeline transports about 1.3 million barrels of refined products per day from Gulf Coast refineries to customers from Atlanta to New York – nearly 40 percent of the region's gasoline.

The shutdown has pushed up prices all along the East Coast. The average price of a gallon of gas in Baltimore was $2.24 on Tuesday, up 9 cents from last week, according to AAA's analysis.

The Alpharetta, Ga.-based pipeline company has finished emergency construction of a 500-foot section of pipe to serving as a bypass for the leaking section that it expects to open Wednesday. While Colonial expects to be able to resume gasoline deliveries by the end of the week, supply disruptions may continue for days, Colonial spokesman Steve Baker said.

[cpzilliacus]

Any ETA on when things will get back to normal? I'm probably going to the Birmingham meet in a couple of weeks, but don't want to venture south if gas is going to be hard to find, or exorbitantly priced.

The Baltimore Sun (see above) reports that a temporary bypass pipe around the damaged section should be in operation tomorrow (Wednesday, 21 September 2016).

[NJRoadfan]

Many people don't realize it, but this very pipeline runs alongside of the NJ Turnpike for most of its length in NJ.

[cpzilliacus]

Many people don't realize it, but this very pipeline runs alongside of the NJ Turnpike for most of its length in NJ.

Yes it does.  There's a Colonial facility of some sort on the east side of the N.J. 700 part of the Turnpike north of Exit 4 in Mt. Laurel on the right side when headed north (seen from the northbound side of the Turnpike on GSV here and on Google Maps here).

EDIT: Note that this does not appear to be an intermodal pipeline/truck terminal, since there are no "racks" visible for filling tank trucks here.

[cpzilliacus]

Wall Street Journal: Colonial Pipeline Co. Has Restarted Gasoline Pipeline - Line has been partially shut down due to leak, pushing pump prices higher in Southeast

Colonial Pipeline Co. has restarted its main gasoline line, according to a source, but traders expect it could take more than a week to rebuild depleted inventories in the Southeast.

The pipeline, which is the main conduit carrying gasoline from refiners on the Gulf Coast to consumers along the Atlantic, has been largely shut down since Sept. 9, when a massive leak was discovered in Alabama.

Repairs were derailed by gasoline and benzene vapors that made conditions unsafe for workers at times. Eventually, the company built a 500-foot section of pipe to bypass the leak site altogether to allow fuel to begin flowing more quickly.