Prince Albert gas prices expected to jump

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De Haan attributed much of the pressure on gasoline prices to disruptions and uncertainty surrounding global oil supplies. Those include attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and escalating conflict involving vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.

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Prince Albert gas prices expected to jump

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Diesel prices are also being affected by Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, he said.

A refinery outage in the United States over the weekend added another supply concern. De Haan said the refinery supplies fuel to the Canadian market and lost power for about four hours Sunday.

Although power was restored, he said even a relatively short interruption can affect production for several days.

“That refinery lost power, regained it a few hours later, but even a multi-hour impact can be something that restrains a refinery for several days before that refinery is able to start the restart process and restore refining rates,” De Haan said.

The increase has already been more noticeable for diesel. GasBuddy listed diesel prices in Prince Albert ranging from approximately $2.09 to $2.47 a litre Tuesday.

De Haan said diesel inventories have been tightened by agricultural demand during harvest and by preparations for colder weather. Diesel and home heating oil come from the same category of petroleum products, meaning seasonal demand for heating fuel can place additional pressure on supplies.

“Demand is going up, supply is going down, and that is why prices are skyrocketing,” he said.

De Haan said Prince Albert may have avoided the latest gasoline increase temporarily because stations still have fuel purchased at earlier wholesale prices. However, retail prices are generally based on what stations expect to pay for their next delivery, not simply what they paid for the fuel already in their tanks.

Most higher-volume stations receive gasoline deliveries every two or three days, he said, while smaller or rural locations may go longer between deliveries. Diesel deliveries can also be less frequent.

That means Prince Albert prices could change as stations replenish their supplies.

De Haan cautioned that significant relief is unlikely while international conflicts continue to threaten oil production, refining and transportation.

“Until there’s de-escalation, there’s not really going to be much price relief, I’m afraid,” he said. “The imbalances continue to widen, not narrow.”

He said the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade dispute is not having a significant effect on pump prices at the moment, although he described it as another risk to monitor.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com