WHITING, IND. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - An oil industry analyst says the temporary BP oil refinery closure in Northwest Indiana will impact prices even at non-BP gas stations.
The BP refinery in Whiting suffered a power outage last week and indications are it will be off-line and not producing 10 million gallons of gasoline products a day for the next two or three weeks.
“It’s the largest refinery in the Midwest. In fact, it’s one of the largest refineries in the country,” notes DeHaan. “I believe it’s one of the top ten largest refineries in the country, so it’s currently a critical asset for the production of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick DeHaan says it’s going to cost you more to fill up and already has, even if you do not get your gas from BP.
“This is a significant issue. BP is going to have to be buying gasoline to supply its stations from other refineries, and that’s where the price increase comes from. It’s simply the loss of supply is significant and that’s what drives prices up,” DeHaan says.
DeHaan says prices have jumped to $3.39 generally in the suburbs, $3.49 and more in the city. DeHaan says it’s possible gas prices could jump 25 to 50 cents more a gallon in the Chicago area and across the Great Lakes just from the BP refinery shutdown.
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