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US petrol prices have risen as a key supplier said it was shutting pipelines in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
The threat of a fuel supply crunch has grown as more key infrastructure is paralysed by the storm.
The hurricane, which has moved from Texas to Louisiana, has already forced the closure of nearly a quarter of US oil refining capacity.
Colonial Pipeline said it was closing its pipelines delivering diesel, petrol and aviation fuel to the North East.
The firm's network of pipelines are the country's largest supply system, taking refined fuel from the Gulf of Mexico to consumers in other parts of the country. The company did not given any indication when the pipelines might reopen.
Colonial issued a statement on Wednesday announcing its diesel and aviation fuel pipeline was closing immediately and that its petrol pipeline would be closed from Thursday because of outages at pumping points and a lack of supplies from refiners.
The company said its facilities between Lake Charles and Houston were out of service. Of the 26 refineries that connect to the Colonial system, 13 are located between Houston and Lake Charles, it said.
"Once Colonial personnel can safely access these facilities, we will evaluate and provide an estimate of the time necessary to ensure our pipe, pumps, tanks and related infrastructure are safe to resume operations between Houston and Lake Charles," a statement said.
US fuel prices have risen by more than ten cents per gallon compared with a week ago, to $2.449 on average nationwide, according to the American Automobile Association, amid reports that some East Coast refineries are running out of petrol.
from BBC News - World http://ift.tt/2wkmxyV
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