Manitoba premier urges gas companies to ensure equal access during pipeline shutdown [Video]

Manitoba’s premier is urging gas suppliers to refrain from “hoarding” gasoline following an unplanned pipeline shutdown in the province earlier this week.

“We need to ensure that there is a regular entry into the province of 50,000 barrels a day,” Premier Wab Kinew said Thursday. “But we also need to make sure that supply is being distributed equitably across the different regions who need it, and across the different sectors of the economy.”

Kinew said his government has told oil and gas companies they need to provide access to suppliers and distributors, so gas station pumps don’t go dry.

“What you’re seeing right now is a result of market inefficiencies,” Kinew said.

Kinew’s plea to gas companies comes days after Imperial Oil announced a three-month shutdown of a pipeline carrying gas, diesel, and jet fuel from Gretna to Winnipeg. The shutdown is in order to do preventative maintenance. Fuel is …