Excert from story:

Providence, R.I., Port Expects Delivery of Heating Oil Reserves Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Publication date: Jan 29, 2000

snip

"Let's put it this way," said Allinello. "We're not panic-stricken but we're very concerned." The Rhode Island Oil Heat Institute represents "probably close to fifty percent of all the retail dealers in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts," he said. He blamed the "inability to get barges in here" during the past few weeks for creating "a shortage right here in Providence," with "more and more big wholesalers ... running very very low." Retailers are now "allocating to our customers just so that we don't run out. We're going in and we're only part-filling the tanks. This way here, we're trying to maintain some sort of stability," he said. Given the large volume of calls, the Rhode Island State Energy Office will remain open this weekend, for the third weekend in a row, to accept calls on its emergency line, McClanaghan said.

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Link: http://beta.newsreal.com/cgi-bin/NewsService?osform_template=pages/newsrealStory&ID=newsreal&storypath=News/Story_2000_01_29.NRdb@2@8@3@260&path=News/Category.NRdb@2@7

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 29, 2000

Answers

love my woodstove!

-- prepped (and@warm.com), January 29, 2000.

I suppose this happens every year. We get cold weather during the winter and it catches the suppliers with there shorts down. NOT Lazy media assholes. If I had a press badge I could squeeze some news out of some of those refineries.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), January 29, 2000.

Weeellllllll, why have they been unable to get barges in there? (Strange -- I've noted numerous barge-loads heading outbound from New York Harbor to Providence in the past few weeks.) Has there been an ice problem in the channels up there?

I am beginning to recall something stated by Cory Hamsaki, to wit: ". . . the mainframes that move the food, fuel, and money . . . ." I'm now beginning to wonder if these formally reported and anecdotal sudden spot shortages of petro products (Maine, Rhode Island, Long Island) aren't the result of DISTRIBUTION problems (e.g., fuel/oil sector distribution program problems, re Hershey, Royal Doulton, Volkswagen, Whirlpool).

Anybody have any guesses?

-- Harbor Guy (HarborGuy@OnThe.Waterfront), January 29, 2000.

According to the latest US EIA Crude Oil Watch Report, as of 1-21-00 crude oil stocks stood at 15.2 million barrels. That's 1.3 million Barrels more than was on hand a year before. Interestingly Refinery Crude Oil inputs as of 1-21-00 on the East Coast were recorded at 1.344 million Barrels. That's 220,000 Barrels less than a year earlier.

Doesn't this suggest that there's plenty of crude oil, but a lack of refining capacity?

Link:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/pet_frame.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 30, 2000.

Harbor Guy, interesting thought. The trucks were sent to tanks to load, only to discover some of those tanks were either low, empty, or not scheduled to distribute. Could be the distributor's computer was giving false data, and so the drivers were unintentionally sent on the wild goose chase.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 30, 2000.

Hokie nailed that one. Only reasonable reason left.

-- zog (zzoggy@yahoo.com), January 30, 2000.

Interesting idea. JIT has many weak links. Think about the idea that everything is fine but there are shortages. Go to my local gas station and the price up nickels and pennies but plenty at the pump. Could be the great silicon brains predicting fuel oil and diesel supplies are having as many problems as Hershey's? And as the we move into February and March I wonder who else is having problems?

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), January 30, 2000.