Texaco ends gasohol sale in Northeast; costs cited

Waning consumer interest and high shipping costs prompted Texaco Inc., the nation's biggest gasohol dealer, to stop selling the alcohol-based fuel at service stations in the Northeast.

Nationwide, less than 1 percent of motorists use the fuel-blend gas extender, a Texaco spokesman said. The sales drop is down from the 1.5 percent high less than two years ago, when gasoline prices were soaring and supplies were tight, the company said. Texaco will stop selling gasohol in 14 states, where the oil company has its highest concentration of service stations, and will begin phasing out the alternative fuel in the Midwest.