New York ‘insulated’ from pipeline fuel crisis, experts say

Drivers in the tri-state area are unlikely to be significantly impacted by the Colonial Pipeline shutdown — thanks to massive amounts of gas that flow into the New York harbor daily, experts told The Post on Wednesday.

The pipeline was restarted late Wednesday, but operators said it would take several days for the supply chain to return to normal.

Still, experts weren’t worried even before the system was back in action. Massive tankers already deliver a substantial amount of fuel to states in the Northeast, making the area less reliant on the pipeline than its neighbors in the Southeast, according to energy analysts.

“I bet a reporter this morning a steak dinner that there’s probably a sh-tload of barges waiting in New York harbor — prior to this pipeline disaster — waiting to unload,” said Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience Store, Automotive Association.

Elizabeth Dragomir had to stand in a line of vehicles waiting for gas at Costco after a cyberattack crippled the biggest fuel pipeline in the country, run by Colonial Pipeline.
The shutdown led to panic-buying at thousands of gas stations in many states.
REUTERS

“And there’s probably a sh-tload more that’s on the way,” Risalvato added.

The pipeline, which delivers about 45 percent of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, was stopped last week after the operator was hit by a crippling cyberattack believed to be orchestrated by a Russia-based criminal group

The shutdown led to distribution problems and panic-buying, draining supplies at thousands of gas stations in many states. It pushed the national average gas price to $3.008 per gallon of gas on Wednesday, a seven-year high.

Gas stations in New York and New Jersey, which is where Colonial Pipeline ends, saw only modest increases in price, according to the Automobile Association of America.

Robert Sinclair, AAA’s Northeast senior manager of public affairs, agreed that New York is “very much insulated from any pipeline problems, because we have so much port area waterside terminals.”

A sign tells drivers that gas pumps are empty as stations from Florida to Virginia began running dry and prices at the pump rose as the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline by hackers sparked panic buying by motorists, in Falls Church, Virginia.
Prices at the pump rose as the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline by hackers sparked panic buying by motorists in the Southeast.
REUTERS

The average cost of gas in New Jersey rose about 8 cents over the past week to $3.08 per gallon, AAA says, and about 7 cents over the past week to $3.03 per gallon in New York. By comparison, the average price in South Carolina is up 18 cents from $2.64 a week ago to $2.82 Wednesday.

Andy Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, also pointed to the huge amounts of gas that the New York harbor receives each day.

Over the past month, the harbor has been receiving about one million barrels per day, he said. On top of that, he said, gas inventories in the tri-state area are running about 20 percent higher than they were before the pandemic.

Additional reporting by Tamar Lapin

source: nypost.com