By Jake Fogal
BLOOMINGTON – Four dollar gas is on the table for the summer of 2023 here in Illinois, and five dollars won’t be out of question as OPEC has cut oil production.
OPEC, known as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has announced that it will be cutting production by more than a million barrels per day beginning in the month of May.
Significant jumps are expected down the pipeline according to GasBuddy’s Head of Petroleum Analysis, Patrick De Haan.
He spoke to WJBC’s Blake Haas.
“We are less than 10 cents a gallon away from seeing the statewide average hit four dollars a gallon, though in Bloomington prices tend to be a little under the average. It’s looking like some of these stations being 10 cents away that it certainly could happen, I would hope that it won’t be the entire summer, but it’s looking like a better shot then 3 out of 4 that we will hit the four dollar mark, the question is how long it will last.”
De Haan elaborated on what might have drove OPEC to the decision of cutting production earlier this week.
“Probably after watching oil prices dive to $65 a barrel because of the banking crisis in early March, OPEC decided surprisingly to cut oil production and that happened Sunday. Russia and Saudi Arabia cutting 500,000 barrels a day each from production. This is a decision that was rather surprising and unexpected.”
GasBuddy price reports indicated earlier this week that prices were up over 15 cents per gallon, averaging $3.83.
The national average rose a few cents as well, but still below the Illinois average, sitting at $3.49 a gallon.
Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].
