As Tropical Depression Harvey moves farther from Texas, many locals are dealing with a new problem in its wake: a perceived gas shortage. While Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton said Thursday that there is no reason to panic, many Central Austin residents have tried to refill their tanks only to find that gas stations are out of fuel or crowded with long lines.
The people saying that there's no #Gasshortage should Google "supply and demand". 30 deep in line for gas @Costco in #Austin #Harvey2017 pic.twitter.com/T2uNM9HRw7
— Jennifer Barkley (@jennbarkley) September 1, 2017
"There's a logistics issue," Sitton said, rather than a supply issue. As pipelines and refineries affected by the hurricane come back online and roads continue to open, supply trucks will be able to provide gas stations around Texas with gasoline from suppliers around the country. The national inventory of gasoline is 230 million barrels, which is more than enough to cover the few million barrel loss caused by Houston refineries that closed temporarily or are operating at reduced capacity because of flooding. But Sitton warned that if people rush to gas stations to fill up their tank out of fear that the supply will run out, they will cause an increased demand. "Even if all the refineries were running," Sitton said, "we'd still be having this issue." Many Austinites seem to have ignored this warning.
Refineries shutting does not mean we're out of gas. Come on #Austin #DOOMSDAY prepers pic.twitter.com/bDQnod0Gok
