Drivers in our region might be forced to travel a bit further to get gas because some stations are running out of fuel.
Some Petro Canada stations in Newmarket and Barrie were turning customers away on Thursday after they ran out of fuel.
The shortage is spreading across Ontario and gas analyst Dan McTeague says the high demand for gas over the long weekend is partly to blame. But there’s also an issue at Petro Canada’s company, Suncor and one of its refineries.
“We have higher demand with lower prices, not just in Canada but in the U.S. The U.S. is running into a similar problem, a lot of the refineries are down, planned and unplanned. It just means that with any incremental increases in demand if you haven’t got the supply to meet it, we run on a just in time system,” says McTeague.
Suncor, the parent company of Petro Canada, said a "number of factors," has led to a supply shortage.
"We are working hard to limit any inconvenience to our customers by taking a number of steps, including sourcing through third parties and bringing in fuel by truck," spokesperson Nicole Fisher told CTV News in a statement.
Suncor says it cannot speculate on when the station will re-open or if more will close in the meantime. It depends on a number of factors, like its ability to move product.
Gas price analysts say when you see a station selling supreme fuel at the price of regular gas, it’s a sign that the station is running low.
