Why Americans are panic buying fuel
From CNN s Matt Egan and Allison Morrow
Cars line up to fill their gas tanks at a COSTCO at Tyvola Road in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 11. Logan Cyrus/AFP/Getty Images
Several gas stations along the East Coast ran out of fuel Tuesday as worried
drivers aggressively filled their tanks.
Here s how we got here:
What is Colonial Pipeline? The Colonial Pipeline system spans more than 5,500 miles and transports about 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast. It transports 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and home heating oil.
QuikTrip asked that customers visit their app for updated fuel prices and availability. QuikTrip is taking all necessary precautions based on what we know. As a result of the Colonial Pipeline hack, it will take us some time to get caught up where supply is limited, said, Aisha Jefferson-Smith, spokeswoman for QuikTrip Corporation.
Gas Buddy analyst Patrick De Haan tweeted that about 4.7% of South Carolina gas stations were without gasoline as of Tuesday evening up from 1.7% from earlier in the morning. De Haan said that 27% of fuel stations in Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson metro area reported gas outages.
Colonial Pipeline Co. which provides about 45% of fuel for the East Coast was hit with a ransomware attack on Friday which forced the company to shut down all its pipelines on Friday.
Colonial Pipeline gas shortages widen: State-by-State breakdown
Fox Business 3 days ago Lucas Manfredi
Fuel shortages have widened across the East Coast as consumers continue to panic buy amid the fallout from a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline last week by Russian ransomware group Darkside.
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The 5,500-mile pipeline system transports more than 100 million gallons of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil per day, or roughly 45% of fuel consumed on the Eastern Seaboard between the Gulf Coast and the New York metro area.
Gasbuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan noted that Monday s gasoline demand soared across the country.
The East Coast reported a 32.5% increase in demand Monday compared to the previous week, followed by the Midwest at 16.2%, the Gulf Coast at 13.1%, the Rocky Mountain region at 6.6% and the West Coast at 8.4%.
Virginia governor declares state of emergency due to potential statewide gas shortages
From CNN s Melissa Alonso and Matt Egan
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday issued a state of emergency declaration to prepare and coordinate our response to the voluntary shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline due to a cyber-attack, according to the declaration.
Northam said, if prolonged, the pipeline closure will result in gasoline supply disruptions to various retailers throughout the Commonwealth, since the pipeline is the primary source of gasoline to many Virginia retailers.
According to the governor, while current gasoline reserves in the Commonwealth are sufficient to address immediate supply concerns, a long-term disruption in the pipelines will require transportation of fuel and other oil-derivatives via interstate and state roadways.