PAIN IN THE GAS

Utah Gas Prices Remain High Despite Falling National Prices

By Tracy Medley, 9-12-06

Gas prices are falling throughout the nation, in some cases as much as 22 cents. According to an article by Zack Van Eyck in the Deseret Morning News, “The national average for self-serve regular stood at approximately $2.65 on Sept. 8, down from about $2.87, according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations across the country.” So why are prices in Utah remaining steady at $2.95 per gallon?

The answer might actually raise more questions than it answers, but it’s simply this: Utah does not rely on the Middle East for its oil. Neither do we get our gasoline from the tattered U.S. Gulf Coast which means that Utah’s fluctuation in gas prices are not directly related to wars or natural disasters in those regions.

This is going to sound crazy, but Utah is an island…when it comes to gasoline. With five refineries producing more than a billion gallons of gasoline each year and another refinery’s worth of gas coming from a pipeline in Wyoming, Utah doesn’t rely on sources beyond its own back yard. What’s more: Utah and her surrounding states provide the majority of their own crude oil. This means that Utah’s gasoline needs are met almost exclusively by oil that is both culled and refined in the Intermountain West.

This knowledge was a boon throughout the summer when gas prices in Utah were some of the lowest in the nation, though one might question why they weren’t lower. But, now as the rest of the country’s gas prices continue to drop while prices in Utah linger well above the national average, we’re beginning to wonder.

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