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Suncor refinery restart to ease B.C. gas station fuel outages

Suncor’s 142,000 barrel-a-day Edmonton refinery was restarted last week after being shut down
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The Petro-Canada gas station on 25th Avenue is out of fuel. (Jennifer Smith/Morning Star)

Suncor Energy Inc. says a fuel supply shortage that left some of its Petro-Canada stations in the four western provinces with no gasoline to pump should clear up in the next few days.

Stations began running out of fuel about two weeks ago in Edmonton and Calgary, followed by some Petro-Canada outlets in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C.

Spokeswoman Nicole Fisher says Suncor’s 142,000 barrel-a-day Edmonton refinery was restarted last week after being shut down for regular spring maintenance and the company is working to resupply the stations.

READ MORE: Some B.C. gas pumps run dry over issues at Edmonton refinery

READ MORE: Gas shortage spreads to more stations in Salmon Arm and Sicamous

She says the shortage of gasoline and other fuels in Western Canada was made worse because other suppliers were also off line, preventing Petro-Canada stations from using alternative sources.

She says she doesn’t know how many stations were without fuel supplies.

Fisher says Suncor is apologizing to customers who were inconvenienced by the outages, adding the last time it had such severe shortfall was two years ago in the wake of the Fort McMurray wildfire.

“As they ran out, we’ve been working to replenish but some of them haven’t been replenished,” she said. “We do know this is an inconvenience for our customers and we do apologize.”

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