Colonial Pipeline explosion expected to cause price spike at gas pumps across the South

AAA is warning motorists across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of a likely spike in gas prices following news of a Monday explosion that damaged a portion of the Alabama oil pipeline that also suffered a leak in September.
 
The Colonial Pipeline, whose operating company is based in Alpharetta, Georgia, was damaged near the city of Helena Monday when an explosion occurred roughly one mile west of where the pipeline burst in September. Seven workers were reportedly injured in the blast and were taken to Birmingham-area hospitals.
 
Garrett Townsend, AAA's Georgia Public Affairs Director, spoke about the expected rise in gasoline prices in an email sent to Georgia media.
 
“We were just beginning to recover from the gas price hikes we saw from the pipeline closure in September,” he explained. "The explosion will at least temporarily put a halt to the pump-price dip we've experienced over the past 30 days."
 
Townsend said Colonial Pipeline shut down the company's "Lines 1 and 2 in response to what they called an 'integrity event.'"
 
Line 1, according to AAA, has an apparent capacity of 1.3 million barrels of gasoline per day, while Line 2 has a reported capacity of 1 million barrels per day for the shipping of distillates.
 
"Following the [initial] leak, Line 1 was shut for a few weeks, causing major supply issues in the Southeast and the Mid- Atlantic," Townsend continued. "State average gas prices rose 28 cents in Georgia and 17 cents in Tennessee."
 
Any extended shutdown of both lines is expected to have a "major impact" on supplies and prices along the impacted area, which AAA describes as stretching primarily along the Gulf and Eastern coastlines.