As if record-high gasoline prices weren’t enough of a hassle, Denver-area motorists found some local service stations out of gasoline Tuesday.
Industry analysts said a series of temporary glitches – but no major or ongoing problems – may have caused the short supplies and outages.
Drivers were left scratching their heads. Lakewood electrician Brandon Kelly laughed as he offered his explanation.
“I kind of figured that (retailers) couldn’t afford it, just like we can’t,” said Kelly, who pulled up to a Diamond Shamrock station on South Bear Creek Boulevard, only to find each of the station’s eight pump nozzles covered in a yellow plastic bag.
Another Diamond Shamrock station at Broadway and 10th Avenue ran out of fuel Tuesday morning but was in operation again by afternoon after a new shipment arrived.
Valero Energy Corp., the San Antonio-based owner of Diamond Shamrock, said the shortages stemmed from mechanical breakdowns at a gasoline terminal that supplies its Denver stations. A Valero spokeswoman said the firm hopes to have supplies back to normal by next week.
Other metro Denver stations this week ran out of regular- grade gas, forcing motorists to look elsewhere or fill their tanks with more-expensive midgrade or premium.
A Phillips 66 station and a Shell outlet, both in Lakewood, had run out of regular Monday evening but had replenished supplies by Tuesday morning. A Shell station in central Denver had temporarily run out of regular and midgrade a few days ago, a clerk said.
Employees at several of the stations offered no reasons for the shortfalls and said they had been instructed to forward media inquiries to corporate offices.
The shortages might be caused by isolated transportation bottlenecks from wholesalers to retailers, said Stan Dempsey Jr., president of the Colorado Petroleum Association, which represents local refineries.
Or the shortfalls might stem from retailers that intentionally purchased small supplies, hoping that prices would come down and they then could fill their storage tanks with less-expensive gasoline, analysts said.
The Suncor refinery in Commerce City, Colorado’s largest single source of gasoline, is running at full capacity and has left no customer stranded on an island of empty pumps, said Mike Ashar, executive vice president of Denver-based Suncor USA.
“We have good gasoline inventory, and we have gasoline for sale,” he said.
However, Shell Oil Co., which acquires some of its gasoline from Suncor, said its temporary shortage of regular stemmed from refinery supply disruptions.
“We experienced reduced supply due to refinery problems by our supplier,” said Shell spokesman Shawn Frederick. “That’s why we had some shortfalls, but I think we’re OK at the moment.”
Airports in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada recently came within a few days – and at times within hours – of running out of jet fuel – a problem that analysts attributed to outdated fueling infrastructure that can’t keep up with growing passenger loads.
Denver motorists said Tuesday that they were having virtually no problems with supply but plenty of headaches from high prices. Some said high prices have forced them to switch to cheaper blends.
“Oh, yeah, I used to use premium, but it’s just too much. So I just use the midgrade now,” said Monica Simmons, buying gas at the Broadway Diamond Shamrock.
Denver’s average per-gallon price for regular unleaded on Tuesday was $2.57, while premium sold for $2.87, according to AAA.
“I’ve been using the cheaper grade and less of it. I’ve definitely been driving less and walking more,” said Kelley Williams of Denver, at a 7-Eleven gas pump at East 17th Avenue and Pearl Street.
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-820-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
