A gasoline shortage in Sarnia Wednesday could be a harbinger of things to come province-wide.
Dan McTeague of GasBuddy.com says several stations running out of fuel in a city with three refineries right in its backyard, is "quite disturbing."
Gas bars including Esso, Canadian Tire and Pioneer ran out overnight and had notices posted on their pumps while they waited for new supplies to arrive by tanker later in the day.
McTeague says issues at Shell stations in Ottawa a few weeks ago suggest they may be having output and logistical issues, although no refinery has indicated it's shut down or has problems.
"We have a just in time system that appears to be strained by higher demand," says McTeague. "Of course that means gas prices that we often see are a little cheaper with retailers discounting their margins, demand remains robust and refineries and those involved with the logistics of getting gasoline around are being seriously challenged."
McTeague says cutting the price per litre to $1.17, as some Sarnia stations did Tuesday, adds to the problem.
"It's gas bar shenanigans, they're trying to maintain market share or outdo the other person down the road," he says. "The fact is that you're selling gasoline at a dollar 17, your replacement cost is a dollar 21, sooner or later you're going to wind up either short of product or you're going to wind up short at the bank."
-With files from Dave Dentinger