Search the ArchivesNavigation Contact InformationThe Citizen Newspapers For Advertising Information Email us your news! For technical difficulties |
The Great Fayette gas huntWed, 09/24/2008 - 6:15am
By: John Munford
Seven stations in Fayetteville have gas going into lunchtime today; reports of testy drivers at the pumps; Email us your gas stories at jmunford@TheCitizen.com Latest update on stores selling gas in Fayetteville (11:40 a.m. Thursday): As of Wednesday, 5 refineries remain shutdown in Texas; 7 others in process of restarting, according to U.S. Department of Energy As the gas shortage continues to impact Fayette County, one local resident reported frayed nerves among other drivers at the Flash Foods at Ga. Highway 54 and Jeff Davis Drive in Fayetteville recently as long lines formed for the pumps. When an attendant announced the gas was out, motorists began yelling and screaming as the scene threatened to get ugly, the woman reported. One Fayetteville resident reported Wednesday that she was stranded in Fayetteville, unable to commute to her job in Atlanta today because she has been unable to buy gas. "I'm wondering when I'll be able to get back to work," Tiwanna Simpson said in an email to The Citizen. Another local resident said the secret is apparently going to Coweta County to buy gas, as several stations there had been open with gas including the Kroger at the Thomas Crossroads area. The impact of hurricanes Gustav and Ike has spread to Fayette County and all over the Southeast as damaged or offline oil refineries continues to limit the production of gasoline. The result in Fayette County has been numerous gas stations with no fuel to sell. Monday afternoon, gas stations that received deliveries were descended upon en masse as vehicles lined up on nearby roads waiting to get in to the pumps. It was announced late Tuesday that the federal Environmental Protection Agency is waiving a requirement that 45 counties including Fayette use low sulfur gasoline. Such gas must be manufactured differently than "regular" gasoline, officials have said. The waiver for the low sulfur gas began today and is effective through October 12, the EPA announced. The gas must still meet the government's regular sulfur requirements, officials said. As of Tuesday morning, only 21 percent of the normal Louisiana oil production has been restored, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Energy. EPA reported that more than a dozen oil refineries were forced to shutdown or curtail operations, and the area's refining capacity "has yet to recover." The Colonial Pipeline, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey and serves Georgia, was back up to its capacity of transporting 2.4 million barrels of gas a day as of Sept. 10, according to the company. The pipeline has major facilities in Louisiana where the oil production is still slow to recover from the hurricanes. Of the refineries in the path of the hurricanes, daily production is up to 2.7 million barrels a day while another 1.7 million barrels of production remains down, according to the Department of Energy report. In Fayette County Tuesday afternoon, a partial check of local stores showed few with gas to sell. The new Pit Stop on Ga. Highway 74 South in Peachtree City got a shipment of 9,000 gallons around 2 p.m., and gas was also available at the Braelinn and Kedron Kroger fuel stations. A customer service representative at the Kedron location added, in a pleasant tone of voice: “We also have lines.” Gas stations that reported they were out of unleaded gas included the Braelinn Chevron in Peachtree City and the Flash Foods stores in Fayetteville on Ga. Highway 54 at both Gingercake Road and Jeff Davis Drive. The Pit Stop on Petrol Point in Peachtree City was also out of gas. The Citizen was unable to contact any oil industry representative by press time to determine how long the gas shortage might last. login to post comments
|
Copyright 2010 - Fayette Publishing, Inc. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use Policy
Server 4
