Ottawa drivers are baffled by an apparent gasoline shortage, with a number of filling stations in the city claiming to have not received fuel shipments for days.
Several Ottawa stations were running dry on Wednesday, including two Shell locations in the suburb of Orleans.
An employee at one of those stations said they first ran out of gas on Saturday night, only to be refueled on Sunday, before running out again on Monday. It’s unclear when this station will be able to selling gasoline again.
Dan McTeague of GasBuddy.com said he suspects an infrastructure bottleneck is slowing deliveries to gas stations already grappling with limited supply.
He’s ruled out a major issue with refinery production.
“That’s a question of output. That’s often the case, but certainly not the case here,” McTeague told CTV Ottawa on Wednesday. “It’s a reflection of just how tight as a drum the supply picture is throughout much of Ontario. We make just enough gasoline to get by.”
If they can avoid it, he recommends drivers hold off on filling up until midnight on Thursday, when he predicts prices could drop by about four cents per litre.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Leah Larocque
