Motorists in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions will likely see rising gas prices in the coming days. Colonial Pipeline has suffered yet another setback, as a fire erupted in the same area where a leak occurred in September.
Colonial Pipeline shut down its Lines 1 and 2 in response to what they called an “integrity event.”
The gasoline explosion was reported on Monday in Shelby County, Alabama – the same county where Colonial reported a gasoline leak in September. It’s believed the explosion could be related to repair and construction work on site.
Following the leak, Line 1 was shut for a few weeks, causing major supply issues in the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic. Following the leak, state average gas prices rose 28 cents in Georgia (9/15-9/21) and 17 cents (9/15-9/24) in Tennessee.
Colonial’s Line 1 has a capacity of 1.3 million barrels per day of gasoline, and Line 2 has a 1 million barrels per day capacity for distillates shipping. An extended shutdown of both lines would have a major impact on supplies and prices from the Gulf Coast to East Coast. In September to October, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic faced supply run outs, with unbranded retailers bearing the brunt of the tight supply. The Southeast had to rely on long-distance truck deliveries from as far as Chicago and waterborne fuel deliveries.