Metro Vancouver commuters are once again in for a shock with gas prices rising to new highs.
Prices at the pump for a litre of regular have shot up to as high as $1.769 in some areas.
That’s well over the previous record of $1.73 for a litre of regular set last July.
#StickerShock @CityNewsVAN #GasPrices pic.twitter.com/dWcje0GBnI
— Dean Recksiedler (@RecksiedlerDean) January 7, 2022
According to an expert, prices are more or less spiking out of control due to supply problems that are refinery related.
“A key source of gasoline for the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island is the 54,000 barrel per day refinery in Burnaby that has been running at reduced capacity due to problems with the cold weather,” petroleum analyst Roger McKnight says in an email to CityNews.
He notes the crude oil that’s needed at that facility is usually brought in through the Trans Mountain pipeline, “which also is not up to speed.”
To add to the pressure, a refinery in Washington state that also helps supply the Lower Mainland region is down, and there are also storage issues at terminals in Oregon, McKnight says.
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All of these supply issues are coupled with increased demand, with more drivers getting back on the roads, he adds.
And while increases aren’t isolated to the Metro Vancouver area, that’s where we’re seeing the largest jumps.
“Prices are indeed moving up across the country as demand is out pacing supply but not to the extent that prices are jumping in Vancouver,” McKnight explains. “Normally the difference in the wholesale price of gasoline in Vancouver versus Calgary is about 6 cents with Vancouver on the high side. Today the difference is 26 cents. This can all be attributed to the double refinery outages.”
Motorists will continue to pay more for gas until supply issues can be resolved, with McKnight adding until that happens, “there is no where for price to go but up.”