Motorists looking to fuel up Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning were out of luck if they tried the Chevron Town Pantry in Courtenay, which had run out of gas after dropping the price to 99.9.
Thursday morning, the company was “working hard to get a delivery of fuel there as fast as we can,” Chevron Canada spokesperson Deidre Reid said.
Chevron’s gas comes from its Burnaby refinery, where it’s manufactured. The company has a terminal at Hatch Point on the Island.
Reid said Chevron stations are depleted every once in a while “if there’s a logistical issue or something like that.
“We try to anticipate the volume at a station as much as possible,” she said. “When we are in a situation where prices are so very competitive, this can happen.”
Her advice to customers is to enjoy the low prices while they last.
“The competitive prices, certainly people have been taking advantage of those and filling up when they can,” Reid said. “We do recognize that there is a new entrant (Costco) into the marketplace in that area.”
Competitive prices, however, are not sustainable in the long-term, Reid added.
“When you add up taxes and crude oil, we’re not even covering that at the current prices in some areas.”
The most expensive place to refuel in B.C. this week has been Fort Nelson, where four stations were selling gas for 142.9. Stations in Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Port Alice, all in the North Island, were the next most expensive at 139.9.
For more information check www.bcgasprices.com.
