Houston gas stations run short of fuel
— reported by the Houston Chronicle
Scores of gas stations in Houston were out of at least one grade of gasoline today as the conversion to ethanol-blended gasoline from fuel with MTBE presented logistical problems, fuel suppliers and station owners said.
Valero spokeswoman Mary Rose Brown said some 80 stations in the Houston area had an outage of at least one grade.
Backlogs have been created as retail stations drain and clean their tanks to prepare for the switch and terminals retrofit bays to handle ethanol. A shortage of drivers and trucks has also compounded the problem, she said.
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