Several refineries were forced to temporarily shut down, pinching gas supplies for the rest of the country.
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Tropical Storm Harvey is knocking even more Gulf Coast refineries offline, raising the risk of higher gasoline prices in the coming days.
Attorney General Ken Paxton responded to the news of $6 and $8 per gallon gas prices around the Metroplex and the state.
“Our expectation is really not much higher than $2.40 a gallon, it’s really just a forecast, ” said Redman.
“There’s plenty of gasoline”, he said.
When Dallas residents heard Harvey had disrupted gas production, they came out in droves to refill their tanks.
One gas station Chain, QuikTrip with 135 stations in the Metroplex, said the company is keeping about half of its locations without gas.
MA is somewhat protected from Gulf refinery impacts due to its access to supplies from mid-Atlantic states and Canada, Maguire said, adding that the demand locally for gas also subsides somewhat after Labor Day as people settle back into their regular routines.
Dallas had the most expensive gasoline in Texas on Thursday at an average $2.37 per gallon.
“AAA noted that ten Gulf Coast refineries were still shut down while others were still recovering and reducing at reduced rates”.
Dr. Barrett says, “The prices will go up a little bit, but then it should be back to normal here in the next few weeks”.
Lubbock will likely not see as serious of an impact as other areas. But there will likely be continued pain at the pump as the numerous refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast struggle to get back online.
Prices in Texas jumped 10 cents overnight, and are up 21 cents over the last week. In Texas, that price is $2.21. That includes the nation’s largest, the Motiva Refinery in Port Arthur.
There are no estimates on when those crucial refineries will be up and running again. The surges are in response to the flooding caused in Texas by Harvey.
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Now 10 refineries in the Gulf Coast region are shut down. Furthermore, just as many (including meteorologist) thought Harvey was on it’s way east, it chose to give the northeast part of Texas and western Louisiana another roundhouse blow, as if to say: Take that! “While a ripple effect will lead to higher gas prices in some parts of the country and a higher national average price, current information suggests higher pump prices in the Gem State will be more a result of high travel demand than supply issues”.
