By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – Prices at the pump could pass $4 per gallon in the coming weeks, as oil passed $90 a barrel for the first time since 2014.
According to Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine are sending jitters through the market on fears of war.
“We already have seen many racks or turmoil where gas tanker trucks, fuel tanker trucks fill up have already raised their price to reflect today’s higher cost. In theory, as early as now, gas stations are raising their prices to reflect the increase in cost. So Americans could be paying the higher price because of Russia’s incursion.”
In an address to the nation on Thursday, President Biden said with new sanctions taking effect, the price of oil will go up even higher.
“And of course, as this situation continues to escalate, the primary risk in this situation is Russia’s oil flow. It is the second largest, borderline third-largest oil producer globally,” added De Haan. “And so what happens in Russia could have a profound impact in terms of availability and price. So the primary impact is on American’s wallets, evenly distributed across much of the country.”
On Wednesday, President Biden said he was slapping sanctions on the company in charge of building Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The 764-mile long gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea runs from Russia to Germany to double Russia’s oil capacity.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
