Gas price and oil experts attribute a sudden spike in Wisconsin gas prices to a Chicago-area tornado outbreak from July 15.According to AAA, gas prices rose an average of 28 cents in Milwaukee and Waukesha in the past week. Prices rose an average of 24 cents in Racine and an average of 32 cents in Kenosha County."Every time you turn around you're paying for something else extra," said Kasee Rucker, who was at the pump Wednesday.While some consumers noticed the spike, others said they are not worried the increase will impact their budgets."Wow, that's amazing. That's a big increase. Yeah that's got to have an impact on people," said Erik Hokanson, filling up his tank Wednesday. "I'm spending more and I don't have more to spend. But you have to get around town, it's one of those things that is an unfortunate fact of life," Jeremy Zuleger, also at the pump, said.Experts said the spike stems from a tornado outbreak that happened around Chicago on July 15, including an EF-2 twister that touched down in Channahon, just southwest of Joliet. The tornado did not directly hit the nearby ExxonMobil oil refinery, but it did knock out power to the plant.Patrick De Haan, a gas analyst for GasBuddy, said in a post on X the spike "is a routine price cycle exacerbated by the outage of a refinery in Joliet, IL.""In the Chicagoland-Milwaukee area there are only three refineries in the local vicinity," said Andrew Lipow, with Lipow Oil Associates.The refinery has been offline for more than a week. According to Lipow, oil is now being funneled to Illinois and Wisconsin all the way from the Gulf Coast. Lipow, who has experience working with a refinery in the Midwest, said prices could jump up another 10 cents before consumers catch a break. "I think it's going to take several weeks for ExxonMobil to recover from the power outage and restore normal operations," Lipow said. "I expect prices are going to be higher than we would expect in both Chicago and Milwaukee for the next three to four weeks."An ExxonMobil spokesperson did not share a specific timeline for when the refinery will be fully restored, but said they are grateful to the crews working to restore power in the area."We have sufficient power to assess the damage to our equipment and to begin the work to restart operations," a spokesperson said in an email.
MILWAUKEE —
Gas price and oil experts attribute a sudden spike in Wisconsin gas prices to a Chicago-area tornado outbreak from July 15.
According to AAA, gas prices rose an average of 28 cents in Milwaukee and Waukesha in the past week. Prices rose an average of 24 cents in Racine and an average of 32 cents in Kenosha County.
"Every time you turn around you're paying for something else extra," said Kasee Rucker, who was at the pump Wednesday.
While some consumers noticed the spike, others said they are not worried the increase will impact their budgets.
"Wow, that's amazing. That's a big increase. Yeah that's got to have an impact on people," said Erik Hokanson, filling up his tank Wednesday.
"I'm spending more and I don't have more to spend. But you have to get around town, it's one of those things that is an unfortunate fact of life," Jeremy Zuleger, also at the pump, said.
Experts said the spike stems from a tornado outbreak that happened around Chicago on July 15, including an EF-2 twister that touched down in Channahon, just southwest of Joliet. The tornado did not directly hit the nearby ExxonMobil oil refinery, but it did knock out power to the plant.
Patrick De Haan, a gas analyst for GasBuddy, said in a post on X the spike "is a routine price cycle exacerbated by the outage of a refinery in Joliet, IL."
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ALERT: #GasPrices appear to be rising to $3.89/gal in areas of SE #Wisconsin today. This is a routine price cycle exacerbated by the outage of a refinery in Joliet, IL.
— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) July 23, 2024
"In the Chicagoland-Milwaukee area there are only three refineries in the local vicinity," said Andrew Lipow, with Lipow Oil Associates.
The refinery has been offline for more than a week. According to Lipow, oil is now being funneled to Illinois and Wisconsin all the way from the Gulf Coast. Lipow, who has experience working with a refinery in the Midwest, said prices could jump up another 10 cents before consumers catch a break.
"I think it's going to take several weeks for ExxonMobil to recover from the power outage and restore normal operations," Lipow said. "I expect prices are going to be higher than we would expect in both Chicago and Milwaukee for the next three to four weeks."
An ExxonMobil spokesperson did not share a specific timeline for when the refinery will be fully restored, but said they are grateful to the crews working to restore power in the area.
"We have sufficient power to assess the damage to our equipment and to begin the work to restart operations," a spokesperson said in an email.
FAQs
Gas price and oil experts attribute a sudden spike in Wisconsin gas prices to a Chicago-area tornado outbreak from July 15. According to AAA, gas prices rose an average of 28 cents in Milwaukee and Waukesha in the past week. Prices rose an average of 24 cents in Racine and an average of 32 cents in Kenosha County.
What is causing gas price spike? ›
Gas prices surged in 2021 and 2022 because of economic disruptions caused by the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The average cost of a gallon of gas peaked at $5.016 on June 16, 2022, according to AAA, which tracks gas prices.
Why is gas more expensive in Illinois than Wisconsin? ›
Illinois is one of just seven states to tack on a sales tax to gasoline prices. That's on top of the motor fuel taxes I mentioned above. So as gas prices go up, so, too, do the gas taxes Illinoisans pay. Those sales taxes have pushed overall state gas taxes higher since 2019 by about 13 cents.
What is causing the spike in natural gas prices? ›
Factors on the demand-side include the extent of natural gas consumption infrastructure (including end-use equipment in buildings, natural gas-fired power plants, and liquefied natural gas export facilities), weather (temperatures), economic conditions, petroleum prices, and international demand.
Did the pandemic cause gas prices to go up? ›
The onset of the pandemic led to an initial drop in prices for petroleum-based products, and then, just as abruptly, prices rose sharply as producers limited production and demand increased.
What is the leading cause of high gas prices? ›
Gasoline price changes in California are primarily driven by the cost of global crude oil and significant unplanned refinery outages.
Why was there a sudden jump in gas prices? ›
The cost to refine crude oil into gasoline, including occasional refinery production shutdowns, scheduled and unscheduled. Seasonal factors, such as changing from cheaper gas blends used in the winter, leading to a natural price spike in the spring. Spot shortages, sometimes caused by geopolitical tensions.
What state has the cheapest gas right now? ›
US Gas Price Report
- Texas - $3.086 per gallon. You can find the cheapest gas price in Texas, where the average cost is $3.086 per gallon. ...
- Mississippi - $3.124 per gallon. The state with the second cheapest gas price is Mississippi, with an average cost of $3.124 per gallon. ...
- Oklahoma and Missouri - $3.136 per gallon.
Petroleum prices are determined by market forces of supply and demand, not individual companies, and the price of crude oil is the primary determinant of the price we pay at the pump.
Which U.S. state has the highest gas prices? ›
Most expensive US states for gas
- California ($5.45)
- Hawaii ($4.78)
- Washington ($4.67)
- Nevada ($4.63)
- Oregon ($4.44)
- Alaska ($4.37)
- Arizona ($4.13)
- Utah ($3.96)
The marketplace determines the price of natural gas. Currently, no governmental agency regulates the price of natural gas production at the wellhead.
Where does natural gas actually come from around our area? ›
In the United States and in a few other countries, natural gas is produced from shale and other types of sedimentary rock formations by forcing water, chemicals, and sand down a well under high pressure.
What does fracking mean in the oil field? ›
Fracking is short for "hydraulic fracturing", which is the process of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting specialized fluid into cracks to force them to open further. The larger fissures allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formations and into the wellbore.
Why is gas going up in July 2024? ›
California continues to lead the nation with the highest gas tax in 2024, which climbs to 69.8 cents per gallon as of July 1. This increase pushes the Golden State's average price for a gallon of regular gasoline to about $4.79. In other tax news, California also has a new gun and ammo tax effective July 1.
Do oil companies set the price of oil? ›
The price of oil as we know it is actually set in the oil futures market.
Why did gas prices go up in Illinois? ›
According to officials, the state's tax on fuel is set to increase each year and is indexed for inflation. In 2019, lawmakers voted to make a change to how the tax was figured, allowing it to rise from $0.19 to $0.38 and then to increase each year based on inflation.
Gas prices up again? What's going on? - The ...The Fulcrumhttps://thefulcrum.us ›
Since January, the national average price for gas has increased 57 cents to $3.66 per gallon, almost a 20 percent increase. Who or what causes gas prices at the...
The price of crude oil is the single biggest contributor to the retail price of gasoline.
U.S. drivers saw the most expensive gasoline prices at the pump in three months on Wednesday as the national average price for a gallon of gas continues to inch...
The main components of the retail price of gasoline
- The cost of crude oil.
- Refining costs and profits.
- Distribution and marketing costs and profits.
- Taxes.
Rising demand for fuel helped lift prices for U.S. oil products by around 3% on Monday with diesel futures closing at their highest in 10 weeks and gasoline futures closing at their highest in eight weeks.
