Shimmer of new fuel impresses customers

DENISE RIDEOUT

Tankers are making their way through Nunavut’s bays and inlets loaded with drums of a silver liquid hunters and boaters are eager to get in their tanks.

The drums are full of a fresh supply of gasoline for Nunavut communities. And Nunavummiut are hoping the new gas is of a higher quality than last year’s supply – which gummed up hunters’ snowmobiles and boats.

Tankers have already delivered fuel to several communities, including Cape Dorset and Iqaluit, and are now headed to other places in the Baffin and Kivalliq regions.

Susan Makpah, director of the petroleum products division of the Nunavut government’s department of public works, said when the tankers arrive in the communities they’ll unload the new gas and take away tanks of the remaining, contaminated gas.

“We have isolated the 2001 gasoline into one tank in all of our tanks in the communities,” Makpah said.

The 2001 gas supply wreaked havoc for many hunters, boaters and snowmobilers in the Baffin and Kivalliq regions. The gas damaged engines, pistons, carburetors, piston rings and crank shafts, and there was an abnormally high number of snowmobile break-downs.

For months, people complained that the GN had purchased a bad batch of gas. It wasn’t until April that the GN finally tested the fuel and discovered the gas was missing a key ingredient that helps keep engines clean.

Gas delivered to communities

Anticipation was in the air in Cape Dorset early this week when the tanker approached. On Monday, the local Co-op, which handles the gas contract, was getting ready to unload the supply and fill the holding tanks.

Art Stewart, Cape Dorset’s senior administrative officer, said residents are curious to see what this year’s supply is like. “I heard people comment ‘I hope we get better gas than we got last year,'” he said.

“It was certainly a nuisance for many people, especially with snowmobiles, and something happens on your snowmobile and you’re 100 miles from nowhere.”

Drums of gas for the capital city arrived in port late last week. Things run a little differently in Iqaluit because private gas stations, not the GN, sell the gas to customers.

Two local gas stations, Baffin Gas Bar and Beach Gas Bar, did some major clean-up work before the new supply arrived.

“We closed down the gas bar at 7:30 a.m. and began to pump and clean out our holding tanks. That’s a process that basically vacuums everything out of the tank,” said Chris West of Qikiqtaaluk Corp., owner of the two gas stations.

“We did it to ensure that if there were contaminants in there that there was nothing left.”

At the Baffin Gas Bar, workers pumped out the remaining 6,000 litres of last year’s supply and put it into drums.

Interestingly, West said, some Iqaluit residents are jumping at the chance to get their hands on the old gas.

“I didn’t anticipate this at all, because of the number of complaints about the quality of the gas. You know, you wouldn’t think that someone would want to buy it. But some people commented that ‘Well, I’ve used it all year and the damage is done.'”

The gas stations are waiting to hear from the GN whether they can sell the old gas.

Meanwhile, the new gas is causing excitement of its own. “It is totally different. It’s a clear to silver colour. It’s a beautiful colour. And the smell – the smell is much nicer,” West said.

The new supply is also selling at two thirds the price, a sale the GN instituted when it discovered the gas was faulty. The price may change when the GN does a review in October.

West said people are taking advantage of the good- quality gas at a lower price.

“People are certainly stocking up on it. We’ve seen quite a few drums coming through and a lot more jerry cans than we normally would for this time of year.”