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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: manalagi who wrote (4538)	8/6/2006 12:09:35 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24206

Shortage has truck drivers fuming DIESEL SCARCE By Ameera Butt Denver Post Staff Writer Colorado - and the nation - are experiencing a diesel-fuel shortage this summer that is hampering a variety of shipping businesses and has trucking companies scrambling for fuel. At some Colorado truck stops, fuel is being rationed to 50 to 75 gallons per truck - far less than the 100 to 300 gallons needed to fill the tank, said Colin Heupel, safety manager for HVH Transportation Inc. truckload division in Henderson. Because of the shortage, HVH is advising its drivers to refuel in other states before driving to Colorado. Some out-of-state trucking companies have been advising drivers to avoid Colorado completely if alternative routes are available. As of June 1, the Environmental Protection Agency mandated that refineries meet new clean-air diesel fuel requirements. The rule requires refiners to sharply reduce the sulfur content of diesel, to 15 parts per million from 500 parts per million, said Stan Dempsey Jr., president of the Colorado Petroleum Association. Difficulties in complying with the new EPA rule - plus other factors, such as a storm that knocked out a large refinery in Illinois and increased diesel demand from farms - are contributing to the shortages. Partly because of widespread shortages, diesel prices are rising. The average price of diesel in Colorado was $3.20 on Friday, compared with a national average of $3.06, according to AAA. That's higher than the price of unleaded gasoline, which is unusual by historic standards. On a wholesale level, the price of diesel has risen 28 cents per gallon since July 1. In Colorado, the conversion of diesel to meet the new EPA requirement "has not been exactly smooth, and refiners have had ups and downs in making (it)," Dempsey said. He said some refineries - including Colorado's only refinery, the one operated in Commerce City by Suncor Energy Inc. - have struggled with the new low-sulfur processing equipment, despite heavy investment to meet the new EPA standard. Steve Douglas, general manager of supply and marketing at Suncor Energy, said his company has been trying to maximize diesel production. He said Suncor recently completed a $445 million project to produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel. "It was certainly expected there would be some hiccups," Douglas said. "When -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on new equipment, you do not flip a switch and produce the fuel." Suncor supplies roughly 20,000 barrels of fuel per day for Colorado, Douglas said. Total Colorado demand is about 60,000 barrels a day. Douglas said Suncor will limit the amount of fuel its customers, such as trucking companies, can purchase. "We are also trying to find diesel we can bring into Colorado by a pipeline," Douglas said. "We are doing everything we can do to add to the supply of diesel fuel." Another factor in Colorado's shortage is that storage tanks along the diesel pipeline system must be "shut down and steamed and cleaned" to adhere to the new, lower-sulfur standard, said Roy Turner, executive vice president of Colorado/Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association. Farmers are also boosting demand for diesel. "It's harvest season so all of them are harvesting the crops out there like the corn, so now you got all of the machines, which are usually idle, out there that are running," said Dino Guadagni, vice president of Western Distributing Transportation Corp. in Denver. Anton Adami, owner and operator of his own truck for HVH Transportation, said he got into Denver on Thursday night and "all of a sudden we have no fuel options." He said "it's just everybody is limiting their fuel to 50 gallons." He said his truck takes 260 gallons of fuel to fill, and he fueled up last week at a gas station in Commerce City where "I got 180 gallons and it cost me $580 dollars." "We are just trying to get enough fuel to get us out somewhere that does have fuel," he said. Staff writer Ameera Butt can be reached at 303-820-1233 or abutt@denverpost.com. denverpost.com