HOUSTON (Texas, US), Feb 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 1,700 gas stations are without electricity because of the Texas power disaster, threatening to push pump prices even higher with key refineries in the state still shut.
The total represents more than 13% of the stations in Texas, Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for retail fuel tracker GasBuddy, said in a tweet Friday afternoon. Among the largest cities, the most outages are concentrated in the San Antonio area.
Some of the biggest refineries in Texas are expected to take weeks to resume operations, with many plants having to repair damaged equipment, suggesting it may be tough, and costly, for Texans to fuel up.
The freeze also pushed the Gulf Coast cash-market gasoline trade higher. Cash gasoline blendstock for Colonial Pipeline was at $1.79 a gallon on Friday afternoon, the highest since July 2019.
Yet, gasoline demand is still weaker with fewer drivers hitting the roads with cold temperatures following icy conditions.
US fuel consumption last week was at the lowest seasonally in 20 years, also due partly to the Covid-19 pandemic depressing demand, government data show. — NNN-AGENCIES
