Centex says bad fuel sold at Alberta station was due to faulty tank

Centex is offering answers after a gas station northwest of Calgary was forced to shut down last week.

Centex says bad fuel sold at Alberta station was due to faulty tank

Centex is offering answers after a gas station northwest of Calgary was forced to shut down last week.

The station in Bearspaw stopped pumping fuel on July 19, after customers reported car trouble after filling up there.

Centex said only regular gas was affected.

The tank came from a commonly used  Edmonton-based manufacturer called ZCL, said Shafiq Bhura, managing partner at Centex Petroleum. He said part of the tank’s primary wall was ruptured, which resulted in a solution getting into the fuel and causing contamination.

Bhura said the fuel tank had two walls with a liquid contained in between. The liquid is used as a safety measure to help detect any issues with the tank.

According to Bhura, the fuel was fine when it first went into the tank and it was removed while the tank was fixed.

Centex said customers will be able to purchase fuel again on July 27, and that they will continue to monitor and test the system to ensure everything is functioning properly.

Customers and the environment

So far, about 120 customers have come forward reporting damages as a result of the bad gas, and the company expects more to trickle in.

Centex said they will reimburse all customers affected and as of Thursday, they are processing payments.

Customers have been very understanding, Bhura said, as Centex works with car dealerships in Cochrane to ensure everyone impacted will be compensated.

Bhura added that there was no impact on the environment because the underground fuel tank has two walls to offer protection.

– With files from Alannah Page