Bad News Phoenix:Pipeline tests fail; gas shortage likely to continue

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[AZamericonnie]

I had heard about people selling gas from cans but hadn't seen a picture. Hope that's really gas in there!

[FlyVet]

The 8-inch diameter line operated at half-capacity from Aug. 1 to Aug. 8 before being shut completely after test results identified the cause of the rupture as "stress corrosion cracking."

Yikes. And the corrosion is confined to only one portion of the pipe, between El Paso and Phoenix?

[CedarDave]

$3.79 9/10

Is that the real price or a doctored photo??

[goodnesswins]

Just about the same here in the Seattle/Tacoma area in gas price increases.....about 20 cents.

[j.havenfarm]

Up $.36 here in Marysville, Yuba County. How the inability of Southern California refineries to EXPORT gas to Phoenix means I need to pay more eludes me, but the folks on the news wouldn't just blandly report that assertion as fact if it weren't true, would they?

[mhking]

Is that the real price or a doctored photo??

That's a real photo from AZCentral.com (The Arizona Republic).

[GraniteStateConservative]

I'm starting to think that we got the Saudi's passive support in Iraq in exchange for $30/barrel oil.

[dogbyte12]

Up $.36 here in Marysville, Yuba County. How the inability of Southern California refineries to EXPORT gas to Phoenix means I need to pay more eludes me, but the folks on the news wouldn't just blandly report that assertion as fact if it weren't true, would they?

Pisses me off to no end as well. The oil companies lie. The pipe is broken so oil that is being refined 15 miles from my house can't be sent to Arizona, so it stays here. Therefore, because we can't ship the oil out of state and have to sell it to you instead, we need to charge you more. All of us have to do that. Even the oil companies who don't have a major presence in Arizona.

[adam_az]

I paid $2.99 last night for Unleaded "Plus," they had just run out of regular unleaded. Every gas station in my neighborhood is out, I had to drive out to the ghetto to find any gas.

Creepy seeing yellow caution tape wrapped around every island at every gas station!

[Brian S]

This just in...

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EPA grants Arizona request to allow dirtier gas to ease crunch

ANABELLE GARAY and BETH DeFALCO, Associated Press Writers Wednesday, August 20, 2003

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(08-20) 11:20 PDT PHOENIX (AP) --

A gasoline pipeline that was shut down for safety reasons failed one of two tests needed to reopen it, the company that owns the line said Wednesday.

The closure of the pipeline, which provides a third of the metropolitan area's gas, has sparked days of shortages and long lines at gas stations.

Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners said a test on the first segment of the pipeline was going well and should be completed Wednesday afternoon, but a test on a second 4-mile segment failed near Tucson.

The failed section was near an area where the pipeline burst on July 30, said Kinder Morgan spokesman Rick Rainey.

The section that failed during testing was being repaired, and a new test will needed, company officials said.

The pipeline is still expected to be running back at full capacity by the weekend, Rainey said.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency granted Gov. Janet Napolitano's request that Maricopa County be allowed to use conventional rather than cleaner burning fuel until the gas supply stabilizes.

In a letter sent Wednesday, EPA Assistant Administrator John Peter Suarez said gas stations could sell conventional gas as long as efforts were being made to obtain as much cleaner-burning fuel as possible. The waiver expires Sept. 19.

Napolitano on Tuesday asked that the state be allowed to bypass requirements for cleaner-burning fuel.

Since 1997, the federal government has required gas stations in the Phoenix metropolitan area to use gasoline blended with ethanol or another additive to combat ozone pollution during the summer.

On Tuesday, Napolitano also said she requested that officials increase the number of hours gasoline truck drivers can work in a week from 70 to 80 to keep more drivers delivering gasoline to dry stations.

The Kinder Morgan pipeline shut down on Aug. 8, causing a hiccup in the supply chain, leaving many gas stations dry by Sunday and forcing motorists to wait in long lines at other stations. The lines and shortages continued into Wednesday.

Kinder Morgan representatives and Napolitano met Tuesday afternoon, but the governor said she left the meeting with many unanswered questions. She questioned why the company didn't monitor the aging line more closely and didn't have an effective backup plan.

"We are doing everything we can do but we have an obligation to public safety," said Tom Bannigan, who heads Kinder Morgan's fuel pipeline business.

There are no gasoline refineries in Arizona, so fuel must be delivered through two pipelines operated by Kinder Morgan -- the closed one, which runs from Texas, and a second from California, which is still working.

Since the weekend, gasoline has become a precious commodity in Phoenix, a sprawling city with few mass transit options.

Byron Woodson was among nearly a dozen other drivers who crowded around the pumps of a Phoenix station Tuesday, three hours before gasoline was expected to arrive there. With an empty tank, Woodson could only leave a message for his employer saying he would be several hours late.

"That's what I was freaking out about," said Woodson, an administration manager at a real estate firm. "Do I have a job?"

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On the Net:
Kinder Morgan: www.kindermorgan.com/

[McGavin999]

We used to have a refinery up in Fredonia (in the four corners area), I don't know what happened to it. Probably the ecofreaks.

[ravingnutter]

I have seen a 21 cent jump in gas prices here (Atlanta) since Sunday night.

Depends on where you go in town, but it is about the same here in San Antonio...jumped 10 -15 cents or more overnight in most cases.

[GalaxieFiveHundred]

Dang, I picked a bad week to put a non-refundable deposit down on this baby!

[Damocles]

Well that's a bit of good news.

Now if they could just eliminate all the "special" blends permanently we may find some stability.

[hsmomx3]

I have it on good authority that Janet knew what the potential problems were with this pipeline business many months ago and that she chose to do nothing about it at that time.

[xrp]

4 corners area? Isn't that near the Archuleta Plateau? The secret underground alien base is near Dulce, NM on the Archuleta Plateau. The aliens probably took over the facility.

[xrp]

like 48 years?!??! LIKE REALLY DOOD? LIKE OMG!!!!

[ernie pantuso]

How could Nappy-girl know of the rupture months before it happened? And even if she was that psychic, how could she have intervened in a private company's business to prevent it?

It is ironic that some self-proclaimed restricted govt. folks complain about lack of govt. intervention when a minor inconvenience such as this short-term gasoline distribution problem arises. Phoenicians need stop whining like Chicken Little's, stop panic buying, and realize that this acute inconvenience will resolve itself in the next couple weeks at most.

[BSunday]

Either Bush is going to get the blame for this, or AZ will say they need Federal assistance cause they are having to pay more than the other states for gas.

I can hear Shrillary now : What did the President know and when did he know it?

[Riverman94610]

Lets hope this all will be resolved soon.
Am I the only one on this board who sees a SECURITY ISSUE here?What is there to stop a terrorist from sabotaging this pipeline like they are doing in Iraq?What is Kinder Morgan doing to insure sufficient security on the 150 miles of their pipeline?
Comments please.