Texas getting gasoline from other states
For the first time since Hurricane Harvey submerged much of the state’s energy complex underwater, Texas is being forced to truck in gasoline from other states.
The freeze strained the energy supply chain at nearly every point: upstream crude and natural gas production was paralyzed due to power outages and a lack of winterization, refineries had units trip offline, gasoline stations lost power, and the roads were too treacherous for tanker trucks to deliver fuel.
Hurricane Harvey in the summer of 2017, which left much of Southeast Texas without power and flooded refineries, marked the last time Texas had to truck in gasoline, said Paul Hardin, president of the Texas Food & Fuel Association.
Last month’s freeze affected the entire energy grid and is forcing the state’s government to reckon with increasing unpredictability in major weather events.
The Pilot Flying J chain owned by Pilot Travel Centers LLC brought gasoline from Arizona and New Mexico to supply some of its 100 Texas stores. Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores Inc. also has trucked in gasoline for its 75 locations.
On Monday morning, 13.8 percent of stations in the state were not selling fuel, Patrick Dehaan, head of petroleum analysis for retail tracker Gasbuddy, said in an email.
Hardin said he expects that the number of stations selling fuel will be nearly back to normal by Wednesday.
American gasoline demand surged last week near levels seen before the pandemic as drivers got back on the road after a deep freeze, a study of mobile-phone movements shows.
Gasoline demand jumped by 1 million barrels a day last week to almost 8.8 million, data-analysis firm Descartes Labs said Monday. That’s close to numbers just above 8.8 million barrels a day estimated by Descartes in late March 2020.