TINIAN—Gasoline stations here were not able to get their supply from Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc. on Friday and will be unable to sell fuel until Monday.
Carla A. San Nicolas, acting manager of SN Five Gas Station, said they were informed by Mobil about the “situation” at 8 a.m.
“It’s beyond our control,” she told Variety.
Hofschneider Service Station and Tinian Fuel Services are the two other suppliers on island.
On Thursday, San Nicolas said she was told the Mobil had only 800 gallons left in its storage tank.
Mobil may be able to get its supply by Monday, which means that residents have to conserve gasoline this weekend, she said.
At their station, she said they still have fuel but since their meter is computerized it can no longer pump gasoline when it reaches the warning level.
“I know the situation down there at the storage tank. It’s under repair and Mobil can’t hold much supply. The repair started three months ago and they use a small cylinder only,” San Nicolas said.
She estimates that her station will incur a $3,000 loss this weekend due to the lack of fuel to sell.
Every day, she said, SN Five Gas Station gets an average of 200 gallons and serves more than 50 vehicles.
A resident, who declined to be identified, said some people were “panicking” about the situation because there was no warning from Mobil.
Allen Sandbergen, the public information officer of the mayor’s office, said he learned about the lack of gas on Thursday night.
Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc. president Gennaro Cioffi, in an e-mail to Variety, said: “The supply of gasoline to Tinian has been affected by the delay in the arrival of our tanker due to bad weather conditions and port congestion in Pohnpei. At this point, we expect the tanker to arrive in Tinian on Monday. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by this delay to the local community.”
He added, “We would like to assure the community that Mobil is committed to ensuring the reliable supply of fuel to Tinian. We are spending $35 million to upgrade our tank capacity and terminal facilities in Guam and the CNMI, including Tinian, in order to better meet the energy needs of the community.”
Power outage
At around 7 a.m. on Friday morning, Tinian experienced a power outage but it had nothing to do with the gas shortage.
Commonwealth Utilities Corp. resident director Manuela Reyes said the unscheduled power outage was caused by “a bird that got caught in the transmission line.”
She said CUC is not affected by the gas shortage since the power plant uses diesel fuel.
This Saturday, a power outage in San Jose village has been scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
