The national average for a gallon of gas has surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time in more than a decade as the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. David Dismukes, executive director for the LSU Center for Energy Studies says that while prices may not go down soon, the costs can’t get much higher.
“At this point, and any higher, you’re going to start having significant demand implications for these high prices, and these high gasoline prices that are going to be at some point self-correcting,” said Dismukes.
According to AAA, the statewide average price for a gallon of regular gasoline increased by another nickel $3.87. That’s a 50-cent increase in a week. Dismukes says the Russia-Ukraine conflict isn’t the only thing driving prices up.
“There’s still this underlying current of uncertainty about where demand is in the market,” he said. “OPEC Plus’ inability to really keep up with a lot of their agreed upon production targets.”
Production is a problem here at home as well. Dismukes says the U-S is producing roughly 2 million fewer barrels of oil per day since prior to the start of the pandemic. He said oil and gas companies could start pumping, but the White House and Wall Street are making it difficult.
“Those barrels are out there if we want to go and grab them, it’s just that we have a two-fold problem,” said Dismukes. “And until those two things change, you’re not going to get a lot more supply into the market.”
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