Is Harvey supposed to spike prices because of refineries there?
I hadn't thought about doing anything but now that you mention it I'll go get some. Way to make the problem worse Heebie.
GODFUCKINGDAMNIT. We're going out of town for the weekend, and I did not have enough gas to get us to our destination, so I had to go out just now and hunt for gas in this entirely hysteria-induced crazy shortage.
The first two places were out of gas. We even checked the twitter feed of Buccees and no dice. I finally found a line at a largish highway truckstop. The line was about 10 cars deep, spilling onto the highway access road, but it actually moved pretty quickly.
My world is starting to spin as I fathom what a gas shortage could actually mean. Like, students not showing up for class because they don't want to get stranded at school. Already Jammies is working from home tomorrow so that he doesn't have to battle lines or get stranded. We think that we have enough gas in my tank for me to get to work tomorrow and home, and then us all to get to the vacation destination and back. (But what if things are still bad then? That seems unlikely. But so did this!)
I was living in Houston for the 2nd gas crisis.. (I think it was shorter than the first during which I was in college so I pretty much missed it.) Not much fun.
6 me.
IIRC , the rapid increase* in amount of gasoline stored in car tanks is generally what moves these events from "tight" to a an actual short-term crisis. But hard to avoid once started.
I suspect this will spread to some degree to other parts of the US before it runs its course.
*And then helps ease it relatively rapidly (assuming there is a not an actual significant shortfall--which I do not think there is for most of Texas.)
I assume that last parts of Texas are using less gas than usual since nobody is going to work in downtown Houston.
As far as I can tell, there were reports of things being slower than usual at the place where the delivery trucks gas up. That spawned hysteria, and now its a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm particularly annoyed that I contributed to the shortage instead of just hunkering down at home. But not as much as I'd be annoyed to miss our vacation.
Trump's next visit will be to a gas station. Look at the turnout, he'll say.
Huh, I'm nearly empty. Maybe I should fill it up tonight.
Is Harvey supposed to spike prices because of refineries there?
Yes. Between the immediate effects of the disaster and the expected surge in prices, I'm surprised it's taken this long for a gas run to happen. I'd have expected it before landfall.
Just one word: plastics.
During KatRita (remember that portmanteau? Damn, how good to be alive in 2005) European refineries contributed quite a bit to coping with the shutdowns, because the surge of diesel cars meant they had spare capacity to run gasoline. I've no idea if that margin still exists.
From what I've been reading, tanker capacity is an issue, especially with reduced supply in Latin America
It looks like the shortage is real https://www.cbsnews.com/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab4i
Trump is good at being the lackey of dictators with oil. Maybe he can just switch on Maduro.
I think all the refineries that can handle Venezuelan crude are in Houston.
I suppose we could ask people to conserve fuel, if want to kill freedom.
I haven't seen any lines quite as long here, but every station I've passed has one. It's like people have never seen It's a Wonderful Life.
I don't know if it's a real or psychological "shortage", but between multiple reports about how gas prices are expected to spike because of Harvey (here in NYC, they were reporting that some of the pipelines that bring our region gas had to be shut temporarily because they start in the Houston area, but that they were expected to be turned back on today), combined with the holiday weekend that normally has a lot of people driving, it's probably making everyone just extra neurotic, at a minimum.
Like - you hear a story like that and it pings your brain to think "oh, I'd better get gas now while I'm thinking about it". and you and EVERYONE else who heard the same story/has the same thought is suddenly a hundred cars deep in a line for gas.
It's like people have never seen It's a Wonderful Life.
"I don't have any gas here. It's in Bill's car and Ann's car. Here's a siphon."
Because I'm delaying a total fix of the drainage system for my house, I have to siphon water from a small sump I "installed" (with a sledge hammer). This is kind of disgusting, but at least it isn't gasoline.
I did this yesterday, in the Boston area. Zero line. But I felt bad about it anyway! (I was down to about 1/4 tank.)
I just bought gas. Up maybe 15 cents from yesterday. No lines.
I live 8 minutes' walk from everything I need. No lines.
I'm in Portland, ME, drinking aquavit, after an evening watching the Maine Fre Dance Collective outdoors. It's been an odd day.
Were there lines for the aquavit?