Airports run low on jet fuel

[question everything]

Airports run low on jet fuel

Supply bottlenecks strain refineries, pipelines and the airlines

By Brad Foss
ASSOCIATED PRESS

August 11, 2005

WASHINGTON – Lost luggage, bad weather and now . . . no fuel?

While fliers haven't yet had to add that problem to the list of headaches associated with air travel, it might not be far away. Airports in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada recently came within a few days – and at times within hours – of running out of jet fuel.

(snip)

Because of supply bottlenecks, airlines were forced to fly in extra fuel from other markets and scramble for deliveries by truck. But these are expensive, short-term fixes that do not address what airline executives consider to be the underlying problem: With passenger traffic rising above pre-9/11 levels, the nation's aviation business is slowly outgrowing the infrastructure that fuels it. What started as routine supply tightness in these markets quickly snowballed following disruptive events that included a hurricane, a canceled fuel shipment and, ironically, the airlines' own efforts to prevent shortages, according to several airline executives.

(snip)

Part of the problem is that refining and pipeline capacity in some regions of the U.S. have grown slower than demand, meaning companies must run their equipment harder to satisfy growing fuel needs. This raises the chances of operational snags and leaves less of a cushion when something does go wrong. Recent refinery outages have helped push oil prices to record heights near $64 a barrel.

Also, the petroleum industry has reduced its fuel inventories in recent decades, redirecting funds once spent on storage to more lucrative oil drilling. Thus, some of the burden of storing surplus fuel has shifted to the airlines.

(snip)

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050811/news_1b11jet.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. One other disruptive event:

Bush and the Oil Republicans profiteering in EXCESS to all decency.

Got a problem with high gas prices? Blame Bush and the Oil Republicans. They are responsible.

[StrafingMoose]

3. It's bigger than this...

While some people might want to make money out of this, you've got to take into account that we pump the stuff faster than things are rotting (fossil) underground.

It's possible that oil gets more expensive to refine due to quality, quantity in same place and energy taken to extract it that increases.

[Rainscents]

2. This is disgusting... These basters want take everyone down.

:argh: