Naysimone

No, South Florida does not get its gas from the Colonial Pipeline

Governor DeSantis declared a State of Emergency Tuesday, citing a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline and large-scale gas shortages impacting parts of the nation.

South Florida, however, is not at risk of a gas shortage tied to the pipeline. Emergency management experts tells CBS12 News South Florida gets most of its fuel from barges coming into ports.

2018 assessment of the state’s fuel supply chain, compiled after Hurricane Irma, found roughly 90 percent of the gas in Florida comes in via barge from Gulf Coast area oil refineries.

The report found cities in the Florida panhandle, like Panama City and Tallahassee, do get some of their gas from the Colonial Pipeline. The pipeline, however, does not reach Florida and the gas is brought in by truck.

Gas prices in South Florida may continue to rise, however, due to a national gas shortage and panic purchases.

“The longer the pipeline is down, the greater the threat of rising gas prices,” Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA – The Auto Club Group, told CBS4 in Miami. “If operations are restored on Monday, drivers may see very little to no impact at the pump. A lengthy downtime, like a week, would be a different story. Sunday night, gasoline futures prices were up less than a nickel.”

State officials are warning people not to hoard gas.

“Don’t panic to buy gas. Don’t hoard gas,” Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a video posted to Twitter. “Fuel is continuing to move around our state.”