How Gas Has Returned to NYC

New York City’s gas shortage is mostly over, thanks to creative solutions like odd-even gas rationing and deliveries from out of state, as well as the re-opening of a major Canadian refinery, according to the New York Times.

Distributors have dispatched trucks from out-of-state to get gas into New York, and federal and state agencies have provided more than 2.3 million gallons to gas stations.

The paper also reports that Irving Oil Corporation, based in Canada, will re-open a giant refinery in St. John, New Brunswick, that will produce more than 12 million gallons of refined petroleum products a day – over half of which is used in the Northeast.

The re-opening of the refinery is “very important,” according to Tom Kloza, senior oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, since they make so much reformulated gasoline, the cleanest gasoline that is required in New Jersey and New York.

After a power outage, Hess is also preparing to restart operations at its Port Reading, N.J., refinery, which makes 2.9 million gallons of fuel products a day. The nearby Phillips 66 refinery in Linden, N.J., also affected by a power outage, will re-open in about two weeks.

And though may New York City drivers were calling for an end to gas rationing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed an order extending the rationing for another five days, until 6 a.m. on Monday.

Commuting residents still may have to wait a little while at the pumps, but the lines are a far cry from problems last week, which included two-hour waits and gas stations tacking on mandatory additional charges.