Fuel Supply Is Adequate, Conoco Says

Rumors to the contrary, there is no shortage of fuel or competition among suppliers in the Spokane market, Conoco’s manager of supply and distribution for the West said Wednesday.

Jennie Baker said Conoco and other companies that provide gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products to the Inland Northwest have increased deliveries by 12 percent in the last 18 months despite disruptions in the pipeline from Billings, Mont.

Nor have the routine shutdown of a refinery and rejection of a gasoline shipment been concerns, she said.

There are 169 Conoco stations served out of Spokane.

Baker and Conoco spokesman John Bennitt were in the area in part to respond to what they said are recurrent rumors about gasoline shortages.

Railroad shipments have bridged a gap in the Yellowstone Pipe Line between Missoula and Thompson Falls in Montana caused by a dispute with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Baker said.

The pipeline delivers about 40 percent of the petroleum products used in the Spokane area.

And, said Bennitt, rejection of a shipment of premium gasoline from a California supplier did not jeopardize either the quantity or quality of fuel sold in Spokane.

The fuel did not meet Conoco specifications, he said.

Baker rejected assertions by backers of the proposed Cross Cascades Pipeline that their project would alleviate a scarcity of gasoline and other products in the Inland Northwest.

The pipeline would transport gasoline and other fuels refined on Washington’s West Side to the Tri-Cities. Another, existing line would bring the fuel to Spokane.

Baker noted Spokane already receives fuel by way of the Columbia River, and also gets supplies from California and Utah.

All those resources are unusual for a landlocked city without its own refinery, she said, adding that the mix assures enough competition to keep prices down.

Baker attributed steep gasoline price increases that took hold last spring to higher crude prices.

Conoco is investing $9.2 million in the Spokane area to add storage capacity and ease loading bottlenecks, she said.

, DataTimes