Houston may face gasoline shortages (Also East Coast, TX, Summer)

[phantom power]

The East Coast and Texas regions -- including Houston -- that use reformulated gasoline may face local supply disruptions and price spikes at the pump later this year as oil refineries switch to blending the motor fuel with ethanol, the government's top energy forecasting agency warned today.

The government in May will no longer require refineries to use in gasoline oxygenates like MTBE, banned in many states for polluting drinking water supplies. Some oil companies are being sued for using the additive.

Many refineries, worried they could be held liable, plan to stop using MTBE, known as methyl tertiary butyl ether, and instead switch to cleaner-burning ethanol that is made mostly from corn.

However, the federal Energy Information Administration said U.S. ethanol production is running near capacity and "is not adequate to replace the MTBE lost at this time."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3677520.html

Post I stole this from:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2125783&mesg_id=2125783

[jpak]

1. Hurricane evacuations will be so much more fun this summer

I can hardly wait...

[Dead_Parrot]

2. Ouch

Good point. That's gonna hurt...

[jpak]

3. After Katrina, we had absolutely NO gas for nearly 3 weeks

You couldn't even buy a gas can.

A local Lowe's got 2000 cans in one day and sold them all in 2 hours,

It was nuts...and if we had another storm like Katrina or Rita come through, it woulda been curtains for a lotta folks...

[rfkrfk]

4. this story is total rubbish

if the US or Texas has banned MTBE, it is news to me.

certain states have banned MTBE
Texas refineries might, serve these states.
is that what this story is about?

[phantom power]

5. It sounds like a pre-emptive decision...

A couple other paragraphs from the article:

The energy bill passed last year barred the use of MTBE nationwide but gave the industry several years to make the transition. But that law didn't include a provision, strongly backed by refiners, granting them protection from lawsuits stemming from these costly water contamination problems.

In early May, the law will do away with an environmental rule that refiners said sanctioned the use of MTBE in gasoline formulas used in areas with air pollution problems. That robs refiners of one of their key defenses.

Rather than risk more liability, refiners opted to dump MTBE in favor of corn-based ethanol.

"Congress did this to us," said Hodge.

[rfkrfk]

6. several factual errors-disputes, please discuss

the 'energy bill' bans MTBE, that is news to me...No Nyet No no

Houston gasoline shortage , Myth, several reasons

1. drive to a different county to fill up, no Tx statewide need for RFG
2. reality.... Houston refinery shortage of East coast bound goofy gasoline...
...somehow... turns into a shortage for Houston drivers...wtf


I give up, how does a shortage of East coast goofy gasoline
affect Houston Tx?

goofy gasoline --> must meet federal mandate for oxygen content,
but state law bans MTBE,,, ethanol as oxygenate, often used, but is difficult

California goofy gasoline --> will post some other time