A fuel shortage is spreading across the B.C. Interior.

A Chevron station in Prince Rupert didn鈥檛 get its delivery on Wednesday evening, so it was selling Supreme Plus gas at regular prices 鈥� 130.9 cents a litre. The attendant said they ran out of fuel the day before. A nearby 7-Eleven was also out of regular gas.

A Petro-Canada station in Quesnel hung up signs notifying customers they were temporally out of fuel on Monday through until late Tuesday evening. The owner said he had diesel only for most of Tuesday.

A Chevron station in Smithers was also out of regular fuel on Monday night.

READ MORE:

Dan McTeague, the senior petroleum analyst for Gasbuddy.com, said is linked to longer than expected maintenance at a Suncor refinery in Edmonton. Suncor operates Petro-Canada, making up 25 per cent of all oil refined in Western Canada.

鈥淢uch of the gas in [the] region is sent from there to the Petro-Canada terminal in Kamloops,鈥� McTeague said.

鈥淎t last report, the company was trying to source fuel from the U.S.鈥�

Said Suncor spokesperson Nicole Fisher in an email: 鈥淲e understand that this is an inconvenience for our customers and we apologize. We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact, including sourcing additional supply.鈥�

Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island gas stations won鈥檛 be affected, McTeague said, as that fuel come from the Parkland refinery in Burnaby as well as one in Washington State.

McTeague says the temporary pump closures could last into mid-June.

READ MORE:

In the meantime, McTeague says drivers can expect rotating gas shortages as the fuel is spread evenly to local stations, but prices should not be drastically affected.

shannon.lough@thenorthernview.com
Like us on and follow us on