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Gas Scare Hits Atlanta

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
GAS SCARE HITS ATLANTA
Tue Aug 2005 30 22:23:23 ET

Metro Atlanta drivers are facing the possibility of paying considerably more than $3 a gallon for gas by Labor Day -- if they can get it at all, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting Wednesday.

The two pipelines that bring gasoline and jet fuel to the region are down -- powerless to pump as Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on electrical infrastructure.

The metro Atlanta region generally has about a 10-day supply of gasoline in inventory, said BP spokesman Michael Kumpf. The pipelines have been down for two days.

Alpharetta, Ga.-based Colonial Pipeline Co., cut off from its suppliers on the Gulf Coast, is now pumping gas from huge storage tanks, many in Powder Springs, Ga. Whether electric power can be restored to the pipeline pumps before supplies run out is "the great uncertainty ... that hangs over all of us," said Daniel Moenter, a spokesman for Marathon Ashland Petroleum, a major supplier of metro Atlanta's fuel.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
I sure hope they have a plan if running out of gas completely is a possibility. They should stop selling to the public completely! They should re-direct all reserves to emergency personnel and public transportation.
 

McGRP01

beer and bikes
Feb 6, 2003
7,793
0
Portland, OR
narlus said:
good god, maybe they will have to NOT USE THEIR CAR.

the horrors.
While I can certainly understand the virtues of going car-free in theory, I honestly couldn't do it. I work 32 miles from my home, my wife...50 miles. Long treks whether by bike, foot or horse. Then add in transporting 2 children to and from daycare...
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
agreed it would be a pain in the arse (and i said arse strictly for DRB and DHG)...certainly a lot of people don't have access to public transport. are there carpool opportunities?
 

DVNT

Turbo Monkey
Jul 16, 2004
1,844
0
narlus said:
good god, maybe they will have to NOT USE THEIR CAR.
the horrors.

It's impossible to get around town without a car here.
There is just about no infrastructure for public transit and more sprawl than L.A.


Not to mention I wanted to go wakeboarding this weekend :mumble:
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Energy Markets Jittery, Gas Being Rationed
Aug 31 11:39 AM US/Eastern
By BRAD FOSS
AP Business Writer


Crude oil prices fell in jittery trading Wednesday even after the U.S. government said it would loan oil to refiners struggling in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to keep production of gasoline and other fuels steady. But wholesale and retail gasoline prices leaped higher nationwide.

Some of the knottiest issues still to be resolved will be restoring electricity to Gulf Coast pipelines and refineries, which are also suffering from flooding that could very well have left critical electric motors submerged. It will be days before a full assessment of the damage can be done, industry officials and analysts said.

Meantime, wholesale gasoline suppliers have begun limiting the amount of fuel they sell to retailers in certain markets in order to make sure they do not take delivery of more fuel than they actually need.

Light sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 56 cents to $69.25 a barrel, down from an overnight high of $70.65. On Tuesday, oil futures settled at $69.81, the highest closing price on Nymex since trading began in 1983, although still below the inflation-adjusted high of about $90 a barrel that was set in 1980.

But October gasoline futures surged by almost 20 cents to $2.67 a gallon on the Nymex. That is almost 75 cents, or 38 percent higher, than they were on Friday.

"There's too much uncertainty," said analyst John Kilduff at Fimat USA in New York.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
McGRP01 said:
While I can certainly understand the virtues of going car-free in theory, I honestly couldn't do it. I work 32 miles from my home, my wife...50 miles. Long treks whether by bike, foot or horse. Then add in transporting 2 children to and from daycare...
Let's say, theoretically, that you weren't able to get gas.

What would you do?
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
DVNT said:
It's impossible to get around town without a car here.
There is just about no infrastructure for public transit and more sprawl than L.A.


Not to mention I wanted to go wakeboarding this weekend :mumble:
where do you live?
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
SkaredShtles said:
Let's say, theoretically, that you weren't able to get gas.

What would you do?
work from home.

but not really feeling sorry for Altanta right now, they've historically had some of the cheapest gas in the nation. now they face the possibility of "$3+/gallon"? regular was $3.43 here on LI on my way into work. went out at 10am to fill up, and the one place I found that was 2.91 was in the middle of raising it to 3.19.
 

McGRP01

beer and bikes
Feb 6, 2003
7,793
0
Portland, OR
SkaredShtles said:
Let's say, theoretically, that you weren't able to get gas.

What would you do?
I guess I could (theoretically) ride my bike to work. It is only 32 miles. But my wife would have to use her vacation time and stay home with the kids. Since she makes 2/3 of our household income, we'd have to pray that the situation improved before her vacation time ran out.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
McGRP01 said:
I guess I could (theoretically) ride my bike to work. It is only 32 miles. But my wife would have to use her vacation time and stay home with the kids. Since she makes 2/3 of our household income, we'd have to pray that the situation improved before her vacation time ran out.
:think: Sounds like *you* should stay home with the kids......... :p
 

PonySoldier

Monkey
May 5, 2004
823
0
Woodland Park Colorado
SkaredShtles said:
Let's say, theoretically, that you weren't able to get gas.

What would you do?
If we assume that Public transportation still had fuel then I would ride my bike to the RTD stop..~7 miles along 285 in the dark..around 4:00am or so..Certainly would be sporty :eek:
 

DVNT

Turbo Monkey
Jul 16, 2004
1,844
0
profro said:
He lives in Atlanta, I think. But there is the MARTA. That should eb good to use.
Yeah, In Atlanta.

It would be a nice 10 mile ride to the nearest MARTA station.
I've thought about riding my bike to work but the roads I'd have to take would be seriously sketch.

I just heard it should hit 4 a gallon here if there is NO shortage and will go up to 3 a gallon in the DC area.


I'm gonna fill up after work and looks like no Etsu race for me.
 

douglas

Chocolate Milk Doug
May 15, 2002
9,887
6
Shut up and Ride
I could my 50 mile roundtrip to work, oh wait my comapny gets permits for trucks, no gas, no trucks moving, nothing to do at work.....cool, day off - time to go for a bike ride
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
PonySoldier said:
I have on occassion done climbing intervals up and down the "Crow" I currently live on the North side so I wouldn't have to ride up it on the way to the RTD Stop in Pine Junction :monkey:
Ah. Any time someone says they're "from Bailey" I figure they actually live *in* Bailey. Nice little town, that.
 

PonySoldier

Monkey
May 5, 2004
823
0
Woodland Park Colorado
SkaredShtles said:
Name?

And it's *good* Cajun? That'd be worth the drive.

How's Sweet Fanny Adams'?

Its okay Cajun, would be worth it if you are passing through, not so sure its worth the drive up though...Sweet Fanny Adams has Guinness on tap and the food is roadhouse pedestrian, again if you are passing through or need a place to stop to eat its okay, I don't believe it warrants a trip up just for the food. :dancing:
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
PonySoldier said:
Its okay Cajun, would be worth it if you are passing through, not so sure its worth the drive up though...Sweet Fanny Adams has Guinness on tap and the food is roadhouse pedestrian, again if you are passing through or need a place to stop to eat its okay, I don't believe it warrants a trip up just for the food. :dancing:
Ah. Cool. We happen to pass through fairly frequently. :thumb:
 

DVNT

Turbo Monkey
Jul 16, 2004
1,844
0
<rerail> interesting, just read that the gov. lifted the clean air requirements so that it would make fuel costs cheaper.

Metro Atlanta motorists already pay a little more for gas than those in surrounding states because of a clean-fuel requirements to reduce air pollution.
Gov. Perdue issued a statement Tuesday saying those requirements would be lifted temporarily to increase supplies and lower prices, once the pipelines are again operational. Perdue's decision, which awaits approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would affect 45 counties in and around metro Atlanta.
"The governor felt it was important to take some steps to help alleviate gas prices that have been increasing for weeks now," Hedrick said.
Lisa Ray, a spokeswoman with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said the department is prepared to help deal with any gas shortages.
I guess enviromental issues are no longer a concern when things hit 3 dollars a gallon.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Now this....

August 31, 2005
Carriers Are Stricken by Cancellations and Lack of Fuel
By MICHELINE MAYNARD

The airline industry felt the brunt of Hurricane Katrina yesterday, with some airports running low on jet fuel and carriers canceling hundreds of flights. Meanwhile, Wall Street feared that the financial problems of the sickest airlines could grow worse.

The industry's trade group, the Air Transport Association, said the nation's supply of jet fuel had been cut 13 percent because of damage to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

The association arranged for supplies of jet fuel to be shipped by air tanker to airports in Charlotte, N.C., and Fort Myers and West Palm Beach in Florida, where supplies had dwindled, the group's chief economist, John Heimlich, said yesterday.

The group also planned to send jet fuel by tanker truck as well as plane to other airports, Mr. Heimlich said. Of particular concern are supplies at two big airports -Hartsfield, serving Atlanta, and Dulles, serving Washington. Both airports generally rely on supplies from refineries in Louisiana and in Memphis.

Complicating matters is the coming Labor Day weekend, which wraps up the summer travel season and is generally the last period of strong travel for the airlines until Thanksgiving. Car travel is also heavy then.

And with gasoline selling for upward of $3 a gallon in some parts of the country, versus $1.88 for jet fuel, Mr. Heimlich said the airlines were worried that refineries might choose to produce gasoline rather than jet fuel, which would be less in demand.

Yesterday, airports serving New Orleans and Gulfport-Biloxi in Mississippi remained closed, while operations at the airport in Jackson, Miss., were curtailed. The Federal Aviation Administration said it expected operations to resume in New Orleans today, although it could not predict when Gulfport-Biloxi would reopen.

Despite the reopening, some airlines, like United, canceled flights to New Orleans through tomorrow; US Airways canceled flights there through Saturday.

Delta Air Lines said it had canceled as many as 300 flights throughout the South, and AirTran, a low-fare carrier, said it had canceled about 190 since the weekend.

But industry analysts said the cancellations would not hurt the airlines' finances, since they could accommodate those passengers eventually.

The bigger concern, they said, was another rise in jet fuel prices, already at the highest level in history, up 53 cents a gallon this year. Contracts based on the future price of jet fuel spiked yesterday; in Los Angeles, usually the most expensive market across the country for jet fuel, the price closed at $2.24 a gallon.

That is a particular worry for Delta, which has warned it could seek bankruptcy protection because of a cash squeeze. The airline has said each rise of a penny in the price of jet fuel costs it $25 million.

With jet fuel prices up 53 cents so far this year, Delta is paying $1.35 billion more for fuel than it anticipated.

Airline shares fell yesterday. Delta shares was down 7 cents, to $1.20. Northwest lost 25 cents, to $4.94, and AMR, the parent of American, dropped 71 cents to $12.69.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
DVNT said:
<rerail> interesting, just read that the gov. lifted the clean air requirements so that it would make fuel costs cheaper.



I guess enviromental issues are no longer a concern when things hit 3 dollars a gallon.
Pocketbook issues *always* win out over environmental issues. Besides - just imagine all the votes he'll garner by lowering the price of gas. :rolleyes:
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
DVNT said:
<rerail> interesting, just read that the gov. lifted the clean air requirements so that it would make fuel costs cheaper.



I guess enviromental issues are no longer a concern when things hit 3 dollars a gallon.

Why doesn't the dimocrates lead a charge to remove the 25%+ taxes on gasoline....??? That would help.