Gas Prices Rise Due To Hurricane Harvey

Many locals have noticed the price at the pump has been continuing to rise after Harvey made landfall.

“There’s an understanding of when you have these refineries that you have down in Texas of 600,000 barrels a day go offline, there is going to be a consequence to that,” said Matthew Seymour, owner of Pine College Square.

According to the Department of Energy, the peak of Harvey shut down 27 percent of the country’s processing capability – A number that seems unreal to Seymour.

“I think the impact of Harvey – I don’t think we have seen anything like that in this area or in the U.S.,” Seymour said.

The major factor for the price increase in the region is due to supply distribution.

“The reality up here is that a lot of our product is being shipped down to Texas. They still need fuel so it has got to come from somewhere,” Seymour said. “They are now taking in from every available source they can.”

According to GasBuddy.com, the state of Minnesota has seen gas prices rise 18 cents just within the last week bringing the average across the state of Minnesota to $2.52 a gallon.

“If this is the least we have to put up with compared to what they are going through down there, it is going to be okay,” said Fort Ripley resident Crystal Derosier.

Although AAA estimates gasoline could increase an additional 5 to 10 cents over the next week, Seymour believes prices will return to normal in the near future.

“We’ve been around $2.24 or $2.25 and I think that would be realistic to see, if not by the end of the month, by October,” he said. “Once Texas comes back online there is no market pressure to keep the price up where it is at right now.”

Keeping in mind that more trouble could be on the way if Hurricane Irma makes landfall on the U.S. mainland.