Huntsville in no rush at pumps

Industry experts say Iraq war unlikely to cause shortage 3/21/03 By KEITH CLINES Times Staff Writer kclines@htimes.com

Long lines of cars waiting to get gasoline is an image from the past Gulf War, not the one that started Wednesday night.

Afternoon rush-hour business Thursday was quiet at the Exxon convenience store on Governors Drive near Huntsville Hospital.

"There's not been a rush,'' said clerk Sherrie McKinley. "Most of the regulars filled up instead of getting $5 or $10 worth."

Outside at the eight pumps, the average was two customers at a time. There were moments when no one was buying.

Wanda Jones of Guntersville stopped for a few dollars worth before heading home. She was surprised not to find a line at the station, which was selling regular unleaded gas for $1.699.

"I'm not afraid of not getting any gas," she said. "I just want to find the cheapest."

Should war stop the flow of crude oil from Iraq, Americans would have little problem getting gasoline for their cars and trucks, a state expert said Wednesday.

"I don't see any reason for panic buying,'' said Dr. Peter Clark, associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Alabama. "There is no hint of a shortage."

Iraq can produce about 2 million barrels of crude oil daily, or about 3 percent of world production. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have increased production to ensure an adequate supply, and Venezuela is increasing its output to make up for a two-month strike that shut down its oil exports.

Oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have grown steadily over the last two months as traders faced the uncertainty of war in the Persian Gulf. The futures prices hit $39.99 a barrel on Feb. 27, the highest price since October 1990 when the price rose to a record $41.15 a barrel the day after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

But President Bush's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein this week and the beginning of the war Wednesday night actually calmed fears. Thursday, oil futures fell on the belief that the war would be short with limited disruption of supply from the Middle East. The futures price was $35.32 a barrel last Friday. By Wednesday the price had fallen to $29.88, and oil ended trading Thursday at $28.61.

Those drops won't immediately show up at the pumps, although the average local price for a gallon of unleaded dropped from Wednesday to Thursday, according to AAA Alabama's fuel survey. The average price in Huntsville on Wednesday was $1.692 and was $1.690 Thursday.

A check of some Huntsville restaurants Thursday night also revealed typical crowds, despite the war in Iraq.

At Applebee's Neighborhood Grill &Bar, 2028 South Memorial Parkway, manager Robby Barnes said during the evening dining time the crowd at his restaurant was normal for that day of the week. "It's been about the same as it usually is," he said around 8:15 p.m.

The TV sets were tuned to war coverage, he said, but the telecasts were not drawing an especially large amount of attention from the patrons.

"We have CNN on and people are looking up at it now and then. It doesn't even appear to be a big topic of conversation," Barnes said.

Dave Montgomery, manager of Ruby Tuesday's at Madison Square Mall, also reported business as usual.

"The evening started out a little slow and at first I thought we were going to have a slow night, but around 7:45 people began coming in. The numbers were about typical for a Thursday night," Montgomery said. The restaurant has several TV sets and all but one were tuned to war coverage, he said. One was tuned to sports channel ESPN, but nobody was watching it.

The Steak Out location at 2105 Whitesburg Drive specializes in home delivery, customers stop there for carry-out orders. Assistant manager Darla Mayo said, "We have about the same for a Thursday night. We've got the news about the war on TV and people are watching it."

Times staff writer Howard Miller contributed to this report.