Gas shortages that have been experienced throughout the Southeast are finally being felt in Moore County.

Several gas stations were out of gas today (Wednesday) or were running low. The Kangaroo station on U.S. 1 and Saunders Boulevard had no gas at noon. Another station in Carthage said it had about 30 minutes of fuel left. Other stations indicated they had sufficient gas on hand.

Frank McNeill, owner of McNeill Oil and Propane, who supplies gas to Exxon stations in the area, said that he thought his company would have enough gas until the supply increased early next week.

"It's pretty tight," he said. "Terminals are low. Some stores are getting low."

He said that Hurricane Ike, and the resulting closing of several pipelines from the Gulf Coast area, had made an impact.

"There's very little product coming up the pipeline," he said. "We've been doing fine, unless we get surprised."

He indicated being close to Wilmington was a good thing for the local area in terms of getting gas supply.

"Some of the companies are bringing their product to the port in Wilmington," he said, "and we're close enough to go get it. I understand that over in the Charlotte and Asheville area it's a little tighter."

He expressed optimism about the supply gradually increasing early next week.

"It will be tight through the weekend," he said. "Hopefully, will be getting more by early next week."