 "Photo: Anne-Marie Huff/The Daily Texan")
The price of gasoline in Texas spiked 14 cents last week, according to studies conducted by AAA Texas.
Gas prices have increased because of refineries temporarily closing down while undergoing maintenance for the winter season and because of the rise of the cost of oil from $69 to $81 a barrel in the last two weeks.
“The refining capacity is down pretty significantly because refineries in winter undergo maintenance to switch over to a different type of gasoline,” said Dan Ronan, spokesman for AAA Texas. “More refineries than expected are down for maintenance.”
AAA Texas looks nationwide at fuel gage reports to determine prices and refinery usage.
“I just follow the trend, and the trends have been up because of this,” Ronan said. “Depending on if the oil demand remains high and the economy shows some signs of recovering, maybe this will change, but it is still far too early to tell.”
David Johnson, manager of Eddie Slack Riverside Chevron, said that his station made more money when gas was $4 a gallon rather than current prices at $2.50 to $2.60 a gallon.
“I sold more gasoline at $4 then than I do at $2.50 or $2.60, which was [during] a different administration,” Johnson said. “The economy has changed under new administration. I can’t tell you why this is happening. Oil companies are the people making the prices, not me.”
Oil refineries send company and station prices twice a day in order to force gas stations to follow guidelines, according to Johnson.
“It’s just one of those things I don’t have control over,” Johnson said. ”I have to go off whatever they give us.”
