did someone say 'rationing?' Someone in Ga./Fla confirm this..

[MnFats]

...friend traveling from Macon, Ga., to Orlando, Fla. reports numerous gas stations closed. Many closed.
At her favorite neighborhood quicki mart, 18 of 20 pumps have garbage bags over them.

What the hell is going on?

[SteppingRazor]

1. No retail rationing in Florida...

But many wholesalers (the guys that sell to the gas stations themselves) are, in fact, rationing. Here's a quick story on it:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=a09fZ.nDlKaQ&refer=home

"Katrina's death toll may reach into the hundreds. Looting broke out in New Orleans, where the National Guard patrolled the streets in a bid to preserve order. Gasoline and diesel tanks ran dry at some terminals in the Midwest, South and Southeast as refiners and wholesalers across most of the U.S. started rationing deliveries to filling stations and convenience stores.

BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and other oil companies sent helicopter crews to assess damage to the nation's most important oil and gas producing region. Shell said its Mars platform, which can pump 15 percent of the U.S. Gulf's crude oil, was damaged by Katrina on Aug. 29. "

[TornadoTN]

2. Same in East TN

We have several stations here closed because they have ran out of gas.

Plus, they are limiting the amount you can put in your cars all around. I have never seen anything like this.

Prepare for the worst people, this is looking bad.

[SW FL Dem]

3. I just filled up in S FL

The lines were longer than usual, the local radio stations were urging people to fill up now because prices are going to rise and we may experience shortages due to the lack of gas shipments from Louisiana.

[tx_dem41]

4. Wow...Snopes is going to be busy today. n/t

[Mizmoon]

5. I filled up in NY with no problem at all

I wish the alarmists would cut it out.

[MsTryska]

10. well with all due respect -

Gas provisioning is a funny thing - depending on what those refineries put out, you in NY may not be affected at all.


Or perhaps the South will not wind up being affected, but California will, or some other craziness.


The Oil And Gas industry infrastructure is rather ocnfusing.

[VolcanoJen]

6. There's confusion, because some media outlets report "rationing"...

... but the rationing is taking place on the wholesale end.

The confusion leads to panic. I wonder if Bush will address this confusion in a few minutes.

I'm thinking, no.

Here's a Bloomberg link:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=a09fZ.nDlKaQ

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $70 a barrel and gasoline reached a record for a third day after Hurricane Katrina paralyzed U.S. oil output, refining and imports along the Gulf of Mexico coast, forcing wholesalers to ration fuel.

Oil and natural gas platforms were shut for a fourth day, sending natural gas prices to a record as well. Eight refineries in Louisiana and Mississippi, accounting for more than 10 percent of U.S. refining capacity, were closed by the approach of Katrina, the most powerful storm to strike the Gulf coast since 1969.

``You have an oil market that is quite tight in the products side, particularly in the U.S.,'' said Robert Mabro, president of the U.K.-based Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. ``Then you have a hurricane which closed eight refineries. The market looks at the situation and realizes supplies are even tighter. Prices will only fall if demand declines.''

[Cooley Hurd]

7. No problem in upstate NY...

..other than the FUCKING PRICES!:grr:

[FloridaPat]

8. No lines. No shortages yet. If there are numerous stations closed

it had to be before Katrina. We have a lot of closed stores, gas stations, etc. Sign of a strong economy.

[MsTryska]

9. well check this link out.....

it's from the AJC:

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/custom/blogs/town-talk/entries/2005/08/31/are_you_stockin.html


i've been hearing rumors this afternoon - but i'm not gonna fret til it's time to fret.

i prolly will buy a bicycle with a basket this weekend. I need the exercise anyways.

[pookieblue]

11. My take

People are in a panic and going out and stocking up on gas. So the gas stations temp run out. And the gas prices go up. My friend called me in a panic. I tried to tell her what the guy on radio station was saying.. just stay calm.. do go rushing out and buying gas if you don't need to. Don't take any extra trips if you don't need to.

It's like this if we get a threat of snow or bad weather. people all go to store and buy up all the battieries, bread and water.. etc. and the stores run out.

*sighs*

I have a half of a tank and my only plans are going back and forth to work.