Fuel Shortages Expected In Texas Amid Gasoline Price Spike

According to retail fuel supplier Mansfield Oil, short-term fuel supplies for Houston and San Antonio are significantly impacted by Tropical Storm Harvey.

Bloomberg reports that San Antonio and Houston supplies are at code red, while Corpus Christi was downgraded to code orange as terminals have come online already and limited spot supplies are available.

For now, GasBuddy.com reports a number of stations are still open, though prices are rising...

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However, the Gulf Coast CBOB gasoline spread to NYMEX futures rose 9.50c to a 16.50c/gal. premium - the highest on record in data from 2012.

The U.S. could see 30 percent of refining capacity shut on Harvey and if the storm moves up the Texas coast toward Louisiana, then additional shutdowns could occur in Port Arthur and Beaumont as well as in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. LLC analysts said. Port Arthur is home to the nation's largest refinery operated by Motiva Enterprises LLC.

"There's a big drop-off suddenly in crude oil demand," John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund, said by telephone. "We have a supply disruption event in gasoline production. Gasoline demand in the balance of the country is still elevated, so we could see a real impact on gasoline inventories if these refineries are unable to get restaffed quickly."

By Zerohedge

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