Gas prices are expected to spike upwards in our region. The increase is linked to a massive fire at a Chevron refinery in California last Thursday.
While the fire is out, the refinery remains offline. That’s sending shockwaves through the gasoline market, and is pushing prices up beyond the state, especially in Nevada and parts of Arizona.
“We are already seeing a slight impact. Nevada’s gas prices (are) up about a penny a gallon, about $3.86 for a statewide average,” said Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy, an online service that tracks oil and gas prices.
Prices could also rise slightly in Idaho and portions of New Mexico, he said. Meanwhile Utah and Colorado, which is home to the Suncor refinery, are unlikely to be affected, DeHaan said.
The refinery fire may affect prices for several months – potentially by as much as 15 cents a gallon. DeHaan said imported Asian gas could help keep prices down.
“When that additional supply starts flowing in from Asia, you’ll likely see some improvement toward the end of October,” he said. “But prices will probably still be impacted at a very low level through potentially the holidays or up to the holidays.”
It’s not certain if and how tariffs may factor into the equation, he said.
Current gas prices among Mountain West states:
AZ: $3.53
CO: $2.89
ID: $3.46
NM: $2.87
NV: $3.86
UT: $3.36
WY: $2.99
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Nevada Public Radio Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
