Key US gasoline pipeline aims to carry more fuel by Sunday
DALLAS — A major gasoline pipeline may be able to resume shipping fuel from the Houston area by Sunday, its operator said, potentially mitigating gasoline shortages across the southern United States since Hurricane Harvey forced Gulf Coast refineries to close. But filling tanks was already becoming difficult Thursday in central Texas, where some stations were out of gas and pump costs have risen steeply.
One Chevron station in downtown Dallas that sold regular gas for $2.29 a gallon just before the storm was charging $2.99 on Thursday. Others charged well over $3, and one downtown Shell station charged $3.97 for a regular gallon of gas. At three gas stations in north Dallas, yellow bags or caution tape was wrapped around pumps just after noon.
The supply crunch prompted QuikTrip, one of the nation’s largest convenience store chains, to temporarily halt gasoline sales at about half its 135 stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Instead, gasoline deliveries are going to designated stores across all parts of the metro area, QuikTrip spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said.
“Supply is way, way off,” Thornbrugh said Thursday.