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Ten Days Later, Gasoline is Still at a Premium

Posted on: Thursday, 21 July 2005, 21:01 CDT

Jul. 21--Scores of gas stations remained without fuel Wednesday, more than a week after Hurricane Dennis swept through the area.

But Jay Goss could see a glimmer of hope from his office at Niceville's Citgo Petroleum facility -- a pair of barges heading to the facility with 2 million gallons of gas.

Goss, the terminal's manager, said "the immediate Fort Walton Beach-Niceville area" should soon start receiving fuel after the barges docked and unloaded their fuel late Wednesday.

Indeed, tankers were spotted at several area gas stations late Wednesday evening, although long lines of cars were pulling in quickly upon sight of the tankers.

The Citgo terminal supplies gas to 90 to 95 percent of the area's gas stations.

The barges were coming from Lake Charles, La., and were supposed to arrive Tuesday evening. But they had to dock in Pascagoula, Miss., that day because of rough seas, Goss said.

"All marine traffic of our barges' size had to wait," he said.

Two more vessels with a collective 2 million gallons of gas should arrive Saturday, a day later than expected. Goss said the barges were still fueling in Baton Rouge, La., on Wednesday.

Goss said the first barges' supply should last about five days, given current demand. Under normal conditions, 2 million gallons lasts nine or 10 days, he said.

But as the barges progress, dozens of service stations throughout Northwest Florida still have no gas, or get just intermittent shipments that are drained within hours.

The few stations with plentiful gas Wednesday had traffic to match.

Vehicles stretched from the gas pumps at the Sam's Club station on Beal Parkway well into the Sam's Club parking lot. The situation forced motorist Danny Phu to get creative.

"I'm filling my dad's vehicle," Phu said. "He and I traded vehicles."

After Phu had earlier filled his own vehicle, his father drove it home, and Phu grabbed his father's keys and returned the favor.

The lack of gas has also made it tough for some people just to get to work.

"We can't get some of our people in because they can't get gas," said Walter Howard, merchandise manager at Kmart in Cinco Bayou. "A lot of our people live in Navarre and places like that."

It didn't take long for traffic to extend more than 10 vehicles deep at the Shell station on Eglin Parkway in Shalimar.

The gridlock grew so thick that Shalimar police officers set up cones at the station's entrances along Eglin to keep traffic from backing up on the busy road.

John Kenney, manager at Emerald Express at the corner of Beal Parkway and Clifford Street in Wright, said more fuel should be available there this morning.

A shipment of 8,500 gallons of gas arrived Tuesday afternoon and was gone by Wednesday morning.

"Once a (fuel) tanker comes in, everybody notices," Kenney said.

Marie Harris, a manager at the "Market at Bluewater" Shell station on State Road 20, said the post-Dennis fuel rush has been revealing.

"People are just crazy; people are just hording (gas)," she said. "I've seen people filling 5-gallon gas cans. By doing that, it causes other people not to" be able to get gas.

Phu said he could sense motorists' anxiety, too.

"People panic when there's half a tank left. They drive around (looking for a gas station) until there's a quarter-tank left."

Citgo officials have said they're working on steps to ensure such a long wait for fuel doesn't happen again. Goss said extra barges will ferry in gas to the terminal in the future.

Waterways are the most common path for fuel to be brought to waterfront terminals like Niceville's Citgo.

Landlocked terminals typically get their fuel from on-land pipelines. Goss said that waterfront terminals can use pipelines for gas, but that Florida's permitting process for pipelines is very rigorous.

He said Citgo has and will continue to lobby for more pipeline distribution to Florida fuel terminals.

Despite the barge delays, Goss said the terminal should return to its normal gas stock in about two weeks.

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Source: Northwest Florida Daily News

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