API says does not anticipate major gasoline shortages this summer

API says does not anticipate major gasoline shortages this summer

Washington (Platts)--26Apr2006

The American Petroleum Institute President Red Cavaney Wednesday said he
did not anticipate any major gasoline supply shortages this summer.

He described current supply problems as "very localized hiccups" related
to the switch from winter to summer gasoline supplies and complications due to
the removal of gasoline additive MTBE from reformulated gasoline.

But the short-term gasoline situation appeared to be improving, and wide
spread shortages were not anticipated in the high-demand summer months,
Cavaney said.

API chief economist John Felmy said current market conditions did not
warrant federal government waivers of clean air regulations. "Waivers can play
a very important role" when severe supply emergencies exist, like the one that
followed hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Felmy said.

So far this year, "we haven't seen shortages [like those that followed the
hurricanes] necessary to justify waivers," he said.

President George W. Bush directed Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Stephen Johnson to make every effort to grant waivers if
necessary to make more supply available. Localized shortages have been seen in
the past week or so along the East Coast. Nationwide retail gasoline prices
have jumped about 40 cents in the past month, and on Monday, stood at
$2.914/gal, according to the US Energy Department.

--Cathy Landry, cathy_landry@platts.com

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