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South Florida Gas Stations Increase Supplies for 'Panic Buying'

Posted on: Thursday, 25 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 26--Oil companies stepped up gasoline delivery schedules to South Florida stations on Thursday to keep up with a wave of panic buying, but many stations ran dry.

Stocks of regular grade gasoline at other stations were exhausted, leaving only the higher-priced, mid- and premium grades.

By Friday, through, some dealers are expecting to be resupplied.

Aqeel Shaikh, manager of a Texaco station on S. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth, ran out of gas at about 9 a.m. Thursday morning. Shaikh said a gasoline truck was originally scheduled to come in the afternoon, but didn't expect it to be there until Friday at the earliest.

Hess manager Michael Hanna said his Lauderhill store had non-stop business all day, with customers spending up to $100 on gas. "People are panicking," he said. "They come in a rush."

Agra Mirza, who manages the Liberty gas station on West Commercial Boulevard, said gas lines formed Wednesday night and his supply had dwindled. "A lot of people are scared," he said from behind the register. "They don't know what's going on. I may run out of gas by tonight."

Several fuel tankers unloaded fuel at the port Wednesday and inventories are at a high level, said Ellen Kennedy, spokeswoman for Port Everglades, which supplies gasoline, diesel and other fuels to Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and nine other counties.

About 1,500 tank trucks daily fill up at the port's oil terminals and distribute gasoline and other fuels throughout the area. All fuel for South Florida must be shipped to the port by seagoing tankers or barges.

"As far as supplies at the port go, we should be good for the next four or five days," she said. "When you have 5 million people filling up at the same time, your retail stations are going to be stressed."

Some oil companies shut down their oil terminals at the port early Thursday afternoon as the storm approached, which means tanker trucks could not make additional deliveries. Others were still operating, but would halt operations as the weather worsened.

Gas prices rose in some areas in the face of strong demand, but many stations kept prices at the previous day's levels, at least until the next load.

"Gasoline is still going out of the port and we'll continue to supply the market as long the winds are not too strong and truckers are allowed to pick up their products," Kennedy said Thursday afternoon. Trucks that deliver fuel typically stop work when winds reach about 40 miles per hour.

Another station in Palm Beach County had crowds of customers all day Thursday, but a tanker arrived in time to avoid any shortage.

Jimmy Palaci, owner of the Delray Citgo on NE Fifth Ave. in Delray Beach, said his station was "real busy," but did not run out of gas. "We had one truckload come in this morning and we expect another tomorrow," he said. "Inventory is better than it's ever been during a hurricane," said Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleum Marketing and Convenience Store Association, which includes about 5,600 gas stations.

"It's not going to be like last year," he added, referring to widespread gas shortages that occurred in South Florida when a month-long gas tax holiday ended just before Hurricane Frances struck in 2004.

Staff writers Daniella Aird, Stephen Deere and Scott Travis contributed to this report.

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CVX,

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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