The East Coast could experience a gas shortage after a leak in a major gas pipeline in Alabama. Part of the Colonial Pipeline that supplies gas to the East Coast will be shut down until at least next week.
The Pipeline, closed down since a leak was found Sept. 9, supplies more than 40 percent of the East Coast’s gasoline, according to the Wall Street Journal, and its shutdown is expected to cause gas prices to rise 5 to 20 cents a gallon as suppliers scramble to get gas from other sources.
Some gas stations in states like Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee could even run out of gas while waiting for the shortage situation to be resolved, CNN Money reported.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick DeHaan told CNN Money, “You’re going to see some places without gasoline. It’s like a mini-hurricane.”
States of emergency have already been declared in Alabama and Georgia to make supplies easier to get. Ships are getting ready to carry some of the fuel from Texas to New York, and there may be more tanker trucks on the road carrying fuel as well.
Northeast markets like New Jersey aren’t likely to be as affected, since they are at the end of the pipeline and have other sources of gasoline supply, Oil Price Information Service analyst Tom Kloza told CNN Money. But instead of the usual fall season drop in gas prices, consumers may see a modest rise instead.
Fuel distributor Mansfield Oil has asked customers to save fuel where possible and place orders early. Although the company is transporting supplies by truck to meet demand, it has realized that supply is thin around the closed pipeline. CNN reports that the company said it is treating the situation “with the same importance and urgency as a natural disaster.”
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