Phoenix Running On Empty

[dArKeR]

 Gasoline in Phoenix has been treated like liquid gold in the week-and-a-half since a rupture forced the sole pipeline to the city to shut down.

Motorists drove on fumes from gas station to gas station Sunday night, searching for one that still had fuel. The stations still open had drivers lined up for hours waiting for their chance to pump — and pay an increasingly high price for the privilege.

"I've been losing money for the last week," cab driver Dominick Santandrea said, complaining about prices in the $1.90-a-gallon range Sunday. "If this keeps up, the cab rates will go up."

The gas pipeline between Phoenix and Tucson ruptured July 30 and was shut down Aug. 8. Since then gas has been trucked up from Tucson, and AAA has been urging drivers not to panic.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/18/national/main568834.shtml

http://darker0darker.tripod.com/

[Kolesar]

1. the blackout shut down many refineries--expect high prices

the midwest usually gets burned because we have few refineries anyway, now this!

[kysrsoze]

15. $1.90 a gallon? Big deal!

We pay $1.95 a gallon for premium all the time in Chicago. I do think it's bad not to have an actual supply though, but I would've expected the price to hit 3 bucks.

[htuttle]

17. Really?

I just noticed today it's $1.67 up here in Madison (Marathon station, Willy St).

Wonder why it's cheaper here?

(on edit)

Oh. Premium. Now it makes sense.

[kysrsoze]

19. b/c I'm in the city itself - lots of taxes, transportation and gouging

It's not that fair, but I bike or take the train to work anyway.

[stickdog]

23. It's not because it's premium, dude.

It's zone pricing.

[htuttle]

24. Now that you mention it, I remember that from my days in the oil industry

I was in the retail sector.

"Check your oil today?"

:)

[Sal316]

21. Yeah, that's premium and not that bad.

Today, the stations that had gas were up to $2.40/gallon for regular cheapo unleaded. Not to mention the guy in the west valley charging $3.50-$4.00 a gallon.

$1.95 for premium is pretty standard here, too.

[lazarus]

25. heh

I saw 2.15 a gallon for regular today here in San Diego.

[Sal316]

2. There were NO stations with gas on my way to work this morning.

My only hope is to get lucky and catch one that does.

The worst part is we're looking at AT LEAST two weeks until the pipeline is up and running again.

[prolesunited]

3. Time to drill in ANWR!

I'm sure that will fix it. /sarcasm off

The way Phoenix is laid out, you have to have a vehicle and with as hot as it is, biking or walking is NOT an option. I bet everyone with a fuel-efficient vehicle is pretty smug with their decision not to buy an SUV.

[Sal316]

5. There's rumblings of building a refinery here...

..probably either downtown or down by Tucson and refining Mexican Crude Oil.

:eyes:

Mexican crude is dirtier than others and is a pain in the a$$ to refine, as far as I know.

[atreides1]

10. Build it in Phoenix

Build it in downtown Phoenix, it's the line down here in Tucson that
ruptured, the last thing we need is a refinery that goes boom.

And personally a refinery up in Phoenix would complete the picture, they could build it near Sky Harbor.

[peterh]

11. The last project I saw on the drawing board was Maricopa Refining

It was to be mostly an asphalt refinery, but could (in theory) also be able to blend up on-spec gasoline with the help of importing certain blendstocks from Calif. But as with any potential refinery these days, it never makes it off the board because of economic reasons. The initial investment is huge and a profit can never be guaranteed. I know someone might wonder “WTF” on profit, but that is the reality of it.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. WHat caused the pipeline to rupture and why wasn't the public warned?

Those are 2 questions i see no answers to in any of the articles read thus far.

[dArKeR]

7. Stop being stupid and thinking! Learn to be like the GOP/Bush Media Mantra

PS. My source says it was Al Qaeda or Elvis.

Isn't it amazing the 100's of daily examples of incompetent journalists and editors!

[Catshrink]

8. Nope -- It was Clinton's Penis n/t

[peterh]

9. It was a pipe defect that <they are saying> caused the rupture.

http://www.kindermorgan.com/

click on Arizona headline as it scrolls across the screen for their latest update.

Ruptures do not happen that often, but when they do, more times than not, it’s because of an external activity in close proximity. Pipeline operators regularly (annual basis) check the integrity of the line with an electrostatic “pig” to detect any potential problems. I’m sure someone at KinderMorgan will be asked how a defect escaped detection.

A couple of years ago, we had a case where KM was testing the Concord to Sacramento line and the “pig” got stuck in the line at a point that was not easily accessible. If memory serves me, the line was down for 6 to 7 days. We saw a little uptick in Sac., but logistics being what they are there, ie, other terminals being in close proximity, it shows how Phoenix is just a whole different ballgame.

[Sal316]

22. Kimber Morgan used to be Enron Liquid Pipeline

Question asked... question answered.

:hi:

[maxsolomon]

6. this is america's future

get used to it. the spigots are going to run dry more & more often.

if you're in a place that's uninhabitable without AC, where you have to drive to get a cup of coffee, get the fuck out NOW.

[aquart]

12. Arizona is Republican, isn't it?

Still?

[pfitz59]

14. Dem governor....

Mostly repuke legislature.

[sandnsea]

26. McCain is against ANWR

There you go.

And Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois, and Mike DeWine of Ohio.

Look out New England, you're next.

[sandnsea]

13. Okay this is a load

A blackout in the northeast, the only pipeline to Phoenix ruptures, how could all of this be coincidental?

This is targeted at getting that Energy Bill passed. McCain is one of the no voters so between that and the Northeast, this is just way too convenient.

[kysrsoze]

16. Yeah, don't you smell a rat?

n/t

[sandnsea]

18. A tanker full

And I just read in another post that the White House came out TODAY demanding drilling be included in the Energy Bill. I am not a conspiracy nut, I never believed in MIHOP or LIHOP, I didn't believe anybody messed around with the voting machines. BUT all this stuff happening right now on top of everything else. It's impossible to have so many catastrophes in 2 years.

[kysrsoze]

20. Yeah, who's to stop them on something as minor as this?

They didn't bat an eye on a whole lot of other worse things.

[imax2268]

27. What pisses me off..

is that I don't recall ever hearing of a rupture until Sunday morning when I went to the store to gas up and get smokes...only then I found out that there is no gas because of the rupture...!

Now...the police here in my part of town has pretty much taken over the gas stations to control the flow of people. I didn't need gas today but I wanted to get a pack of smokes and other stuff like I normally do and the police said that I would have to wait in line...what...?Excuse me...?
I'm not buying gas I said...he said...well...you still have to wait in line...then...get this...he said that if I didn't get in line that he would write me a ticket for blocking traffic...it was 11:45pm...there was no traffic...

Go figure...what else is going to happen to us before the year is out...?