Gas outage at Petro-Canada ending soon

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This article was published 19/06/2018 (2853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Petro-Canada gas stations in Winnipeg should be full again by Wednesday, a Suncor spokeswoman said Monday.

Suncor spokeswoman Nicole Fisher could not confirm the number of gas stations out of service in Manitoba, or how long they’ve been out of gasoline, but said there shouldn’t be any more problems in two days.

“I just received an update and we expect to have all our stations up in the next day or two,” Fisher wrote in a statement to the Free Press Monday afternoon.

The company’s 142,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Edmonton was restarted two weeks ago after being shut down for spring maintenance and the company has since been working to resupply its stations, Fisher said. She added the gas shortage — which has affected Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. — was made worse because other suppliers were also offline, preventing Petro-Canada stations from accessing alternative sources.

Stations began running out of fuel about two weeks ago in Edmonton and Calgary, followed by some Petro-Canada outlets in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C.

“We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers over the last few weeks and we appreciate their patience,” Fisher said.

Last week, Fisher also said stations in four western provinces with no gasoline to pump would clear up “in the next few days.”

But Monday, there was still caution tape wrapped around the nozzles at the Petro-Canada station at Portage Avenue and Clifton Street.

An attendant, who was still selling candy bars and cigarettes behind the counter, confirmed there was no gas at the location Monday afternoon.

A white sign posted outside the station read, “We’re currently out of gasoline and we apologize for any inconvenience.”

The last time Suncor had such a severe shortfall was two years ago, in the wake of the Fort McMurray wildfires.

— with files from The Canadian Press

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @macintoshmaggie