GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Gas prices across West Michigan continue to stay higher than the mid-October levels when some areas saw prices drop into the $2.50s/gallon, and ongoing problems at a BP refinery in Indiana are to blame.
"We've just continued to see small, small issue after issue at that facility after the fire that occurred a little over a month ago," said Patrick De Haan with GasBuddy.
While the Indiana refinery works toward producing at full capacity again, there was slight good news for Midwest drivers. A Citgo refinery outside of Chicago announced it is increasing its output by roughly 6,000 barrels a day. Compared to the Indiana refinery, which produces about 440,000 barrels a day, it might not sound like much, but De Haan says any boost in production can affect prices even if only by a cent or two.
"We continue to wait, myself included, for some of those ultra-low, mid $2 prices to pop back up. We were there briefly before that refinery fire occurred, and I'm hopeful that maybe by the end of the year, we'll get back there, but it will take a little time, and for Thanksgiving, prices are going to be again," De Haan said.
Another big question was whether flight delays and cancellations caused by the government shutdown would affect gas prices. De Haan says if flight cancellations had continued and forced people to drive more, we may have seen prices uptick slightly. But now that the FAA has lifted the order to cancel flights, he doesn't expect to see a movement in prices directly correlated to the shutdown.
As predicted last week, prices have cycled back up for many gas stations in West Michigan, bringing the average price of gas for the Grand Rapids area up to $3.17 per gallon. To put that in perspective, 10 years ago on this date, drivers were paying an average of $2.08 per gallon.
Current county-by-county prices as of 7 a.m. show:
- Kent County: $2.91 per gallon
- Muskegon County: $3.10 per gallon
- Ottawa County: $2.88 per gallon
- Kalamazoo County: $3.02 per gallon
Overall gas prices in the state have shot up about 10-11 cents, according to GasBuddy. While many stations follow suit, it will be best to wait until the weekend as prices start to cycle back down to save the most money on your next fill-up.
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