Florida's Fuel Supply Adequate Ahead of Hurricane Milton, Governor Says — OPIS

Florida's governor on Tuesday said gasoline and diesel supplies in the state are adequate, but market sources are cautioning inventories could become tight depending on how much damage Hurricane Milton causes to ports along the state's Gulf Coast.

The National Hurricane Center in a late morning advisory said Milton, currently a Category-4-strength storm, is expected to remain "extremely dangerous" when it makes landfall along Florida's central Gulf Coast Wednesday night.

The system is likely to generate coastal storm surges as high as 10-15 feet in the Tampa area along with rainfall of 5-12 inches, with localized totals up to 18 inches, that could cause flash and urban flooding throughout the state as well as hurricane-force winds, NHC said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis this morning said there is currently no fuel shortage and supplies are continuing to arrive by water and tanker trucks.

"Lines at gas stations have been long. Gas stations are running out quicker than they otherwise would," he told reporters, adding that the state was helping to dispatch fuel to gas stations that needed supply.

Ned Bowman, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association, told OPIS late Monday that fuel supply has been good and the state is prepared for another hurricane. Bowman cited "normal chaos" in the fuel market from a surge in demand and heavy evacuation traffic that have made it more difficult for fuel trucks to get in and out of terminals.

Portions of the state are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which struck the state's Big Bend region on Sept. 27 as a Category 4 storm and caused some damage to fuel terminals and delayed supply into the state.

Because Florida imports all of its fuel, significant damage from storm surges or power outages could cripple product terminals and cut off fuel supply to much of the state. While northernmost Florida, including Jacksonville, receives limited fuel from tanker trucks from Georgia, barges bring the vast bulk of supply to the rest of the state.

Andy Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, on Tuesday said he does not expect gasoline deliveries by tanker trucks to resume until Sunday or early next week, citing possible power outages and a lack of terminal workers and truck drivers. In addition, Lipow said local service stations without power would be unavailable.

Florida remains under a presidential emergency declaration in the wake of Helene and an hours-of-service waiver DeSantis signed in September remains in effect. The waiver lifts the normal daily working time limit for commercial truck drivers to ensure adequate fuel supply.

Florida ports closed ahead of Milton's arrival. The Coast Guard early Tuesday declared port condition "Zulu" for Tampa, Manatee, St. Petersburg and Ft. Myers, a designation that effectively halts all vessel movements and ceases waterfront operations.

The Port of Tampa Bay in a notice said that while shipping channels have been closed, "landside operations will continue as long as safely possible."

On the Atlantic side of Florida, the USCG on Tuesday declared port condition "Yankee," halting inbound vessel transits.

Despite the typical surge in gasoline consumption ahead of a major hurricane, demand typically drops off sharply after the storm passes as residents are often forced to remain in place.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 08, 2024 13:50 ET (17:50 GMT)

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