The most significant refinery in the U-S midwest, owned by BP, has suffered a break-down in its larges crude distillation unit.
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Prices are expected to rise across all of western and central Canada as well.
Late last year gasoline prices briefly dipped below $2 a gallon for the first time since 2009, and they may be headed there again.
The refinery will produce around 11.5 million fewer gallons of gasoline a day if an issue with equipment is not resolved soon, said GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan.
Crude oil prices have dropped nearly 30 percent since June, he said.
Champaign-Urbana gasoline prices this morning ranged from $2.26 a gallon to $2.31 a gallon for regular grade, according to GasBuddy.
DeHaan said today’s hike could look like a bargain compared to next week.
In Illinois the average was $2.60, with the lowest prices in the Decatur area, as low as $2.08 a gallon. “There’s been a push to be independent, and we’re seeing that now, and drivers are seeing pretty good savings”.
“So many refineries have closed because of environmental regulations, so there are fewer and much larger refineries now”, DeHaan said.
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BP sold off refineries in Texas and California in 2013 to focus its U.S. refining operations on plants with easy access to Canadian crude.
