SAN ANTONIO – The head of an oil and gasoline retailer association says panic-buying of gasoline appears to have slowed at Texas gas stations.
Paul Hardin, president of the Texas Food and Fuel Association, said it seems more stores are coming "on line with fuel."
"Some are getting partial loads, but you're seeing more and more stations get fuel, and that's helping with the load times and the cycle times at a terminal right now," Hardin said Saturday evening.
Hardin blames recent panic-buying for complicating an already crippled fuel supply system and causing gas stations to temporarily run dry.
Harvey shut down some refineries, Hardin said, which slowed or stopped the flow of gas in pipelines. That in turn limited supply and caused rationing at terminals, which are essentially the gas stations for gas stations.
As stations ran out from drivers making a run on gas, fuel distribution trucks waited hours at the terminals to get the gasoline needed to refill the gas stations. Some drivers waited only to find out they had hit their "allocation," or ration, at the terminal and could not get any more fuel, Hardin said.
Hardin said the wait times at the terminals had dropped on Saturday, which he believed would mean fuel being distributed more often.
However, Mayor Ron Nirenberg warned Saturday on social media that gas purchases are 2.5 times the normal, daily rate.
Both Nirenberg and Hardin urged drivers to buy gas only when they need it.
Hardin said the supply system should begin to normalize as more refineries come on line.
