KINDER MORGAN WATCH

http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/590132.html

Bad gasoline stalls Valley motorists
Diesel fuel mix wrongly shipped from tank farm, sold as regular unleaded.

By James Guy / The Fresno Bee
05/09/08

Tainted gasoline sold at Central Valley stations stalled vehicle engines Friday and left some motorists scrambling to find a shop for weekend repairs.

Drivers who purchased unleaded regular from about 16 stations in a 50-mile radius around Fresno ended up with gasoline that was inadvertently mixed with diesel fuel at a tank farm operated by Kinder Morgan at Central and Maple avenues.

It is unclear how many motorists were affected by the bad fuel, but Larry Pierce, a spokesman for Kinder Morgan, estimated that 16 tanker trucks picked up fuel at the facility during the time of the mix-up, between 7 p.m. Thursday night and 4 a.m. Friday morning.

Kinder Morgan doesn't own the trucks or service stations, so Pierce said he could not provide a list of the stations selling the bad fuel.

One station that did get it was Bad Bud's, at Herndon and Cedar avenues in Fresno. Friday night, a transport truck was busy pumping the fuel out of the station's tanks.

Lorie Collins, a controller for California Fresno Oil Co., which owns the station, said the company was asking customers who got the bad gasoline to take their cars to a repair shop and have the shop bill California Fresno Oil's insurance company.

"We feel really bad for people whose cars have stalled," Collins said.

The repair probably would include having the bad fuel removed from tanks and changing the vehicle's fuel filter, she said. One estimate of the cost for that was about $200. Since many shops are closed on the weekends, however, it might be difficult for some to get the work done before Monday.

Pierce, of Kinder Morgan, said motorists who received the fuel should report the problem to the service station where they bought the gas so they can pursue a claim. He said Kinder Morgan would take care of the claims.

The company did not know how the mix-up occurred, but is investigating to find out, he said. The fuel is refined at Martinez in the Bay Area and moved to Kinder Morgan's tank farm along a pipeline that parallels Highway 99.

At least one Costco station -- in Merced -- also received the fuel.

Jeff Cole, Costco's vice president of gasoline, said the error occurred at 6 a.m. and the problem was recognized around 9 a.m. The pumps in question were turned off after the problem was brought to Costco's attention, Cole said.

As many as 140 may have used the suspect pumps Friday morning, he said.

Michelle Delgado, who bought gas from the Merced Costco on Friday, said she filled up her GMC Yukon around 7:45 a.m. -- but didn't have to drive too far before she realized there was a problem.

"When I started heading home, there was this terrible 'pinging' noise," Delgado said. "Now I am on my way to go get a rental car."