Carolinas governors issue orders to ensure gas supplies

Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Houston to NY, was shut down on September 9, after a spill of about 250,000 gallons was discovered.

“Given its current fix schedule and the implementation of our contingency plans, the company does not expect disruptions to be long term”, Colonial said in a statement. The Colonial pipeline provides almost 40 percent of the region’s gasoline and usually runs at or near full capacity.

Work crews are trying to fix a pipeline that has spilled more than 250,000 gallons of gasoline in a rural area near Birmingham.

Six states – Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and North Carolina – are facing possible gas shortages after a pipeline spill, officials said.

Ingram believes prices along the East Coast could rise about 15 cents per gallon, but he thinks in Alabama, prices will only rise about 5 or 10 cents per gallon.

In the meantime, the company is using another pipeline that usually carries diesel and jet flue to deliver gasoline while other fuel suppliers are sending tankers to keep supplies flowing to the East Coast. Georgia and North Carolina have also declared a state of emergency.

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 leak sprung in Shelby County, Alabama, and is the largest spill the line in two decades. The Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) typically issues a “corrective action order” listing requirements before full restart approval is granted.

Lafayette Fire Dept. Cheif Keith Scruggs stated, “This leak has caused an interruption of the flow and delivery of gasoline into several states”.

The Southeast has a fairly healthy supply of crude and gasoline inventories, but the market relies on just-in-time inventory and could be disrupted by an extended partial closure of the pipeline, Townsend said.

Colonial Pipeline workers in Helena, Alabama, first detected a leak on September 9. Colonial said it was also considering constructing a temporary segment of pipeline around the leak site.