03/29/2024
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A map showing the Colonial Pipeline system courtesy of Colonial Pipeline Company.
A map showing the Colonial Pipeline system courtesy of Colonial Pipeline Company.

A break in the Colonial Pipeline 1 in Shelby County, Alabama has led to the closure of a section of pipeline which transports nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline per day from refineries in Houston, Texas to the Southeastern United States and the east coast.

According to reports, the leak was discovered on Sept. 9, when a mining inspector with Alabama Surface Mining Commission went to perform an inspection of a former coal mine and noticed the strong smell of gasoline and a sheen on the water of a retention pond on the site.

Mac Campbell, owner of Campbell Oil, said that there are gasoline outages all over the state.

“It is extremely tight for us,” said Campbell. He said one of the company’s locations in Kinston was out for a couple of hours on Saturday but is now back up and running. Campbell said that as of Monday morning, all of their locations do have gas.

NC Governor Pat McCrory signed an executive order last week to waive the hours of service restrictions for fuel trucks to operate. Gov. McCrory said this would help to prevent fuel supply disruptions.

Gov. McCrory has also signed a second executive order to prevent fuel price gouging and to ensure there are adequate fuel supplies in North Carolina.

“We are working with state and national officials to make sure North Carolina is not impacted by this leak,” said Governor McCrory. “This executive order will help protect our motorists from excessive gas prices and ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel that is essential for the health, safety and economic well-being of businesses, consumers and visitors in North Carolina.”

Campbell said that once repairs to the pipeline are completed, the line will need to be tested and it will take about one week for fuel supplies to get back into the pipeline and shipped to the terminals.

“We’re okay. Everybody’s on very strict allocations, though,” said Campbell.

On Saturday, Colonial announced that the company will construct a temporary pipeline to bypass the spill but no timeline was given as to when that work would be completed, according to reports.

On Friday, crews began to dig up the broken section of pipeline to begin making inspections of the break and effect necessary repairs.

Campbell said there is new pressure on the terminals located in Charleston, SC and Wilmington with the Colonial Pipeline being out of service temporarily. He explained the refineries at Charleston, SC and Wilmington primarily receive their gasoline supplies from barges and not the pipeline, but pressure is mounting on those resources due to the outage.

Campbell said both Marathon and Sunoco companies have been very helpful in providing assistance to locate fuel supplies. He added that he traveled to Raleigh during the weekend and noticed companies larger than Campbell Oil that had been without fuel for two or three days.

Campbell said Campbell Oil Company officials are manning the telephones to ensure their stores have adequate fuel supplies and monitoring the progress of the pipeline’s repairs.

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