Contaminated Fuel Delivered to Tampa, Florida ahead of Hurricane Idalia

a reply to: psychotrail

Bunker oil , kerosene, diesel & gas are made within the same process & it’s a stratification of oil crude into many fuel types.

So with computer controlled valves , it’s easier than you think.

If computer controlled valves were involved, than an outside attack from hackers is possible and should be investigated.

So the fuel is stored in containers?? How exactly does it get contaminated? Someone add sugar?? Makes no sense. How many people are possibly going to be stuck in a hurricane bc of bad gas?

originally posted by: medic545
So the fuel is stored in containers?? How exactly does it get contaminated? Someone add sugar?? Makes no sense. How many people are possibly going to be stuck in a hurricane bc of bad gas?

The reports are that gasoline was contaminated with diesel fuel, and Citgo has warned that diesel fuel was also contaminated, so I'm guessing that is was contaminated with gasoline.

It seems that somehow diesel got in the gas, and gas got in the diesel.

a reply to: medic545

So the fuel is stored in containers?? How exactly does it get contaminated? Someone add sugar?? Makes no sense. How many people are possibly going to be stuck in a hurricane bc of bad gas?

it's been a while since i repaired pump motors for two local fuel terminals/ farms so it might have changed some. fuel is stored in tanks at the fuel farms. some places where it comes in at a port it is pumped off the ship to a terminal from there shipped in a tanker transport of some sort be it rail, barge, over the road tanker to another terminal/ fuel farm the on to sgas stations. the pipelines are used for all the fuel and has switching values for each kind. some use to be manual, somewhere automated. they don't flush the pipelines so there is always going to be a little mixing or what back then they called commingling and they always tested it to make sure that it is at a accepted specifications. if the fail they maybe able to correct at the terminal / fuel farm or have to send it back to the refinery to be done.

according to this article the problem was human error.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has identified a potentially widespread fuel contamination caused by human error at the Port of Tampa. Fuel purchased after 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 26, at stations supplied by Citgo from the Port of Tampa has a strong likelihood of being contaminated.
UP DATE: FDACS Identifies Potential Fuel Contamination at the Port of Tampa

CITGO has a contamination issue at its Tampa terminal that is affecting fuel sold at the following retail locations in the Tampa area. Please be advised that CITGO is working with the locations to remove contaminated product from these locations. In the meantime, thank you for patience and understanding as we work to return these locations to normal operations. If, however, you have purchased fuel from one of these locations on or after Aug. 26, and are concerned your vehicle may be impacted, you can initiate a claim through the CITGO Good Gas Guarantee program www.citgo.com...

so for all us tin foil hat wearers, somebody must have been set up as a patsy.

a reply to: BernnieJGato

Wow! some of that bad gas and fuel made it all the way to Daytona.

From the update above:

L Prime - Daytona Beach: 1898 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach

a reply to: IndieA

Wow! some of that bad gas and fuel made it all the way to Daytona. From the update above:

saw that, but i think that's only 150 /160 miles a little over two hr drive depending on traffic from Tampa. seeing how they have refineries in Louisiana and Texas makes sense that the Port of Tampa terminal is used for a base to send fuel to Central Florida and east coast. Tampa is about mid way on the peninsula.

a reply to: BernnieJGato
Wow thats crazy. Thanks

originally posted by: IndieA
a reply to: psychotrail

Bunker oil , kerosene, diesel & gas are made within the same process & it’s a stratification of oil crude into many fuel types.

So with computer controlled valves , it’s easier than you think.

If computer controlled valves were involved, than an outside attack from hackers is possible and should be investigated.

Ok , ill create a scenario for you .
The West coast was just hit with bad rain in areas that caused severe flooding in sporadic events , North West Mexico has had horrible flooding , Hawaii had a horrible fire & Florida knew about a hurricane coming for multiple days .
So can you imagine the gas & diesel demands from the US Gulf refineries in the last 2 weeks ?
Two things happen more often in all work environments when demand is high , overtime hours worked & less sleep !
Those two things are mistakes & injuries !
So do you think that it’s possible that a simple oversight mistake was made rather than it being planned sabotage ?
If hackers had control of refineries , why mix only one batch of gas wrong ? Why not cripple the whole refinery for a week ?
Conjecture saves time , but it has major flaws .

a reply to: psychotrail

So do you think that it’s possible that a simple oversight mistake was made rather than it being planned sabotage ?

Sure. If it didn't happen a few days before a hurricane hits, and in the area to be affected, I would say that it is the most probable explanation. However, the circumstance I just mentioned should warrant a deeper investigation into the matter, especially after what happened in Maui, (which seems to be gross negligence, at best, on the part of local administrators and officals).

I can say that after writing this thread, I have done a little more research into this subject, and I now realize that "bad gas" (no pun intended) is a bigger problem and much greater occurrence than I had realized.

Out of curiosity, and since you worked in the industry, what are the chances that the mixing controls are connected to the internet in some way?

originally posted by: IndieA
a reply to: psychotrail

So do you think that it’s possible that a simple oversight mistake was made rather than it being planned sabotage ?

Sure. If it didn't happen a few days before a hurricane hits, and in the area to be affected, I would say that it is the most probable explanation. However, the circumstance I just mentioned should warrant a deeper investigation into the matter, especially after what happened in Maui, (which seems to be gross negligence, at best, on the part of local administrators and officals).

I can say that after writing this thread, I have done a little more research into this subject, and I now realize that "bad gas" (no pun intended) is a bigger problem and much greater occurrence than I had realized.

Out of curiosity, and since you worked in the industry, what are the chances that the mixing controls are connected to the internet in some way?

I don’t work in the industry , but have friends who work at refineries & yes bad gas happens , & any computer that controls anything can be compromised , yet that is not the case here imo.

originally posted by: IndieA
a reply to: psychotrail

So do you think that it’s possible that a simple oversight mistake was made rather than it being planned sabotage ?

Sure. If it didn't happen a few days before a hurricane hits, and in the area to be affected, I would say that it is the most probable explanation. However, the circumstance I just mentioned should warrant a deeper investigation into the matter, especially after what happened in Maui, (which seems to be gross negligence, at best, on the part of local administrators and officals).

I can say that after writing this thread, I have done a little more research into this subject, and I now realize that "bad gas" (no pun intended) is a bigger problem and much greater occurrence than I had realized.

Out of curiosity, and since you worked in the industry, what are the chances that the mixing controls are connected to the internet in some way?

I don’t work in the industry , but have friends who work at refineries & yes bad gas happens , & any computer that controls anything can be compromised , yet that is not the case here imo. Ok , ill create a scenario for you .
The West coast was just hit with bad rain in areas that caused severe flooding in sporadic events , North West Mexico has had horrible flooding , Hawaii had a horrible fire & Florida knew about a hurricane coming for multiple days .
So can you imagine the gas & diesel demands from the US Gulf refineries in the last 2 weeks ?
Two things happen more often in all work environments when demand is high , overtime hours worked & less sleep !
Those two things are mistakes & injuries !
So do you think that it’s possible that a simple oversight mistake was made rather than it being planned sabotage ?
If hackers had control of refineries , why mix only one batch of gas wrong ? Why not cripple the whole refinery for a week ?
Conjecture saves time , but it has major flaws

a reply to: IndieA

I know this industry well and there is no way for it to be accidental with that many stations.

A single tanker rarely will deposit to more than 1-3 stores. We used to call those splits.

When the delivery arrives the driver prints out the readings. This would be 87 (x many gallons), 93 (x many gallons) and Diesel (x many gallons). 89 is a blend of 87 and 93 - so would not appear on this form.

After you deposit the fuel you will reprint this exact form. Stating the new amounts for each tank.

There is no way that you could put 87 into Diesel and not know immediately or vice-versa.

I don't know the story on this issue, but the delivery would not be the issue. Makes no sense at all to be accidental if it was from the delivery end. This stuff happens - but it is exceptionally rare and caught nearly immediately.

If it was at the port however and trucks were loaded incorrectly (thinking they had 87 while diesel was put into the compartment) then that would be the only 'accidental' explanation. I find that a bit strange to be possible as well given the fact that he tanks are extremely well controlled at the ports and have similar fail-safes in place.

This whole thing reeks of being intentional. I don't understand the end goal though as it would just brick the cars that got the wrong fuel. Breaking a few car engines which would then be replaced via insurance or the lawsuit against the company that provided the incorrect fuel - doesn't seem like a very good plan.

Very odd.