Pumps running low at some Ontario gas stations after Shell refinery delay

TORONTO – Some Shell stations in southern Ontario are running low on gas after a maintenance delay at an oil refinery.

A Shell Canada spokesman says maintenance work at the company’s Sarnia, Ont., oil refinery took a week longer than expected, triggering a shortage that’s hitting Shell stations as far away as Toronto.

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Jeff Gabert says Shell also had trouble buying gas from fuel markets in Ontario and the northeast United States.

He says an upgrade and closure at two other refineries may also be contributing to the shortage.

A handful of stations in east Toronto say they are out of regular gas, though at least one station still had premium-grade gas available.

Gabert says refinery maintenance delays aren’t unheard of, but the tight supply in fuel markets is unusual.

Esso says it’s not experiencing any shortages. (CHOK/CFGX/CHKS, The Canadian Press)