Nova Scotia Gas Shortages Continue

With the Imperial Oil refinery inoperable since July 21, some stations have run out of gas.

August 04, 2011

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA - Lightning has shut down Nova Scotia??s Imperial Oil refinery since July 21, and gas stations are beginning to run out of gas, CBC News and the Chronicle Herald report.

Imperial??s refinery isn??t expected to go back online until mid-August (it had a planned maintenance hiatus that overlaps with the lighting-induced stoppage), and until then, it is rationing the gasoline that it sells to Nova Scotia fuel retailers.

"We have no gas coming so we??re just selling what we can and after that we??ll have to shut down until the refinery reopens," said John MacDonald, who works at a Halifax station. He said business over the weekend tripled, as customers feared a fuel shortage.

"Everyone??s coming up and filling up both their cars," he said. "They??re filling up everything they can, really."

Merle MacIsaac, spokesperson for Imperial, said the company has agreements with Canadian and international suppliers to bring in sufficient fuel to meter the average consumption rate for this time of year.

"There can be occasional run-outs of product at an individual station depending on how they're managing their inventory. But in terms of overall supply, those arrangements are in place," he said.

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