Gas Shortage (Charleston, Spartanburg, Mauldin: purchase, closing, live)

[KaraG]

I paid $4.39 this afternoon at the Pumpers in Easley - notice how many stations don't even have the prices up anymore?

[MaggieDog]

Was $3.51 on the westside of Spartanburg at 10:45 this morning, $3.99 this evening at 6:30pm.

[The Drizzle]

Originally Posted by guestposter24

Gas in rural areas costs more because it takes longer to get it there.

The cost depends on who the distributor is and what they are charging, coupled with their cost, labor, whether the tanks in the station are privately owned, etc. Just because a station is in a rural area doesn't dictate the price. Case in point, the Lil Cricket on Mauldin Road was the most expensive we saw and it's not in a rural area.

News flash: there is no gas shortage. The Gulf Coast counts for 1/5 of the petroleum production that the country consumes. One of the reasons stations are charging so much is because people in the Upstate are paranoid that the hurricane is going to some how stop all the gas production. It wouldn't be so bad if people here would just calm down and not rush to the pump because there's a storm. My wife spoke with relatives in Louisiana, and no one there is rushing to get gas.

[southernmeltdown]

Originally Posted by The Drizzle

The cost depends on who the distributor is and what they are charging, coupled with their cost, labor, whether the tanks in the station are privately owned, etc. Just because a station is in a rural area doesn't dictate the price. Case in point, the Lil Cricket on Mauldin Road was the most expensive we saw and it's not in a rural area.

News flash: there is no gas shortage. The Gulf Coast counts for 1/5 of the petroleum production that the country consumes. One of the reasons stations are charging so much is because people in the Upstate are paranoid that the hurricane is going to some how stop all the gas production. It wouldn't be so bad if people here would just calm down and not rush to the pump because there's a storm. My wife spoke with relatives in Louisiana, and no one there is rushing to get gas.

i hate to bust your theory but gas here in aiken is right at 5 bucks a gallon if you can find a station that still has some left...most of the bp's are sold out even the premium is gone... and houston and galveston is the major hub for petro distibution... so cat 2 hurricane+evacuation of the oil workers=5 dollar a gallon gas....god i hate to see the diseal prices when i head back out.

[The Drizzle]

Originally Posted by southernmeltdown

i hate to bust your theory but gas here in aiken is right at 5 bucks a gallon if you can find a station that still has some left...most of the bp's are sold out even the premium is gone... and houston and galveston is the major hub for petro distibution... so cat 2 hurricane+evacuation of the oil workers=5 dollar a gallon gas....god i hate to see the diseal prices when i head back out.

The reason stations are running out is because everyone is rushing to get gas. Stations fill up based on a projected schedule of sales. Some stations/distributors weren't expecting everyone to panic and get gas, thus the tanks are out. I'm sure there will be tanker trucks on the road today to refill the tanks.

[lilbear]

I'm way to the west in Seneca. (past Clemson if you don't know) and last night it ranged from $3.89 to $4.25. Now everywhere is averaging $3.99. The place that I went to last night (felt dumb when I saw another at $3.89) was $4.25 til almost lunch time today, then they went down to $3.99.

[roadpony]

We spent the weekend in the Charleston area, and before we left on Friday morning, gas in our neighborhood was $3.39. The best price we saw at the beach over the weekend was $3.68. I saw $3.71 this morning in the Isle of Palms/Mt. Pleasant area and didn't see any evidence of panic buying in the Lowcountry. We were trying to avoid paying that "high" price, but on our way home today saw prices along I-26 as high as $4.89. Weird that prices around Columbia would be higher than the beach.

When we got back home tonight, the BP station on Pelham @ I-85 was $3.99 .

[g-man430]

$4.67 at Pumpers up the street from my house for unleaded regular. $13 a gallon currently in the UK though.

[thurx]

I'm in Travelers Rest and see the same price rises. But went to Hendersonville NC yesterday and prices are still well below $4.00 everywhere. It may be a local panic. I don't blame the stations at all. If they think they won't be getting more gas at all because refineries are down (as many have been since Gustov), they have to do what they have to do to pay their bills. If they expect to sell way less gas then they have to get a lot more for each gallon of it. I am way more worried about the supply running out than the price. If gas dries up in another week, we'll all wish it had jumped to $7 or $8 right away to preserve it in the pumps a little longer. I'd say drive very prudently with respect to consumption until you are sure you are going to be able to get your next tank full.

Right now, the news in the Houston Chronicle says that most refineries in the area, including Port Arthur did not flood unreasonably, have limited damage, and power is partially on and production is expected to resume at some time in the near future. This includes the 3 largest refineries of Exxon, BP and Shell, plus Valero and others. But until it resumes, and shipments begin again, there is, RIGHT NOW, no gasoline moving this way as I understand it and they don't expect production to renew for 8 to 9 days.

Here's an article from the Dallas news from last night:
WEATHER Blog | The Dallas Morning News

[roadpony]

Blue Jay and Red Robin on Woodruff were both completely out of (100%) gasoline at noon today.