Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Analyst Warns British Columbia Gas Prices Could Soon Hit A Record High

The Canadian Press, 19 Mar, 2018 12:51 PM
  • Analyst Warns British Columbia Gas Prices Could Soon Hit A Record High
VANCOUVER — Drivers in British Columbia should brace for record high gasoline prices this summer and the financial pain has the potential to spread across the country, says a petroleum industry analyst.
 
 
Dan McTeague of the online tech company GasBuddy predicts that beginning in April and continuing to September, gasoline prices across much of B.C.'s south coast will hover around $1.60 a litre.
 
 
He blames the hike on high demand and chronically short supply, made even worse by Friday's announcement that the Olympic pipeline that distributes gasoline throughout Washington and Oregon will be taken off-line for four or five days of maintenance.
 
 
Prices across Vancouver hit about $1.55 over the weekend, while Victoria remained around $1.40, but McTeague warns southern Vancouver Island could see an eight-cent-a-litre leap as the ripple from short supplies and climbing local taxes spreads.
 
 
The high for a litre of gasoline in Metro Vancouver was set on June 22, 2014, when the price was just under $1.56.
 
 
McTeague said some analysts fear higher prices will spread east.
 
 
"People are shaking their heads," he said. "It's become quite the story, with some national overtones."
 
 
McTeague said other parts of the country are not looking at the same prices for gas, particularly because of B.C.'s taxes on gas.
 
 
"It's not quite the same thing, you are not dealing with 50-cent-a-litre taxes and you are not dealing with a shortage in the same way Vancouver is experiencing," he said. "But it does suggest, I think, the likelihood of breaking the all-time record in Vancouver will likely happen this week." 
 
 
In other parts of the country on Monday, the average price for gas was just under $1.14 a litre in Edmonton, about $1.25 in Toronto and around $1.12 in Halifax. 
 
 
Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline supplies about 50 per cent of the gasoline for B.C.'s south coast, but McTeague says it is already congested and can't meet the region's demand.
 
 
The expected lengthy maintenance shutdown of the Parkland refinery, which McTeague said carries 25 per cent of the Vancouver-area's gasoline, has further crimped supply, while the low dollar adds to the expense of topping up from Washington state refineries.
 
 
"By any stretch or by any measure, the price you are paying in Vancouver is, for most people, prohibitive," said McTeague.
 
 
Los Angeles is the other city in North America where gas prices are unusually high, selling at $3.50 a gallon. But McTeague said even when the exchange rate and other factors are calculated, B.C. drivers would pay about $5.00 for a gallon.

MORE National ARTICLES

Police Ask For Help In Case Of Vancouver Mom Who Didn't Pick Up Kids From School

Police Ask For Help In Case Of Vancouver Mom Who Didn't Pick Up Kids From School
Vancouver police are focusing on a park as they investigate the case of a missing woman who failed to pick up her children from school.

Police Ask For Help In Case Of Vancouver Mom Who Didn't Pick Up Kids From School

Ford's North America Head Raj Nair Leaves Company After Misconduct Allegations

Ford's North America Head Raj Nair Leaves Company After Misconduct Allegations
A top-level Indian-origin executive who was in-charge of auto-maker Ford Motor's North American operations, Raj Nair, has left under a cloud and has been replaced by another, Kumar Galhotra, the company announced Thursday.

Ford's North America Head Raj Nair Leaves Company After Misconduct Allegations

Canadian PM, Politicians Must Not Attend Events Glorifying Militants: Ujjal Dosanjh

Canadian PM, Politicians Must Not Attend Events Glorifying Militants: Ujjal Dosanjh
Canadian politicians, including the Prime Minister, must start appreciating India’s deep sensitivities on this issue,” said Dosanjh, who was the first person of colour to become Premier (equal to Chief Minister) in Canada in 2000

Canadian PM, Politicians Must Not Attend Events Glorifying Militants: Ujjal Dosanjh

Face The World With Your Head Held High, Sophie Trudeau Tells Young Women In India

Face The World With Your Head Held High, Sophie Trudeau Tells Young Women In India
Addressing a group of Indian women students in New Delhi at the Asia launch of the global campaign -- 'She Will Grow Into It' -- Sophie Trudeau also asked them to speak up for those who cannot, and "have fun".

Face The World With Your Head Held High, Sophie Trudeau Tells Young Women In India

B.C. Businesses Say New Health Tax Will Raise Prices For Consumers

VANCOUVER — Small business owners in British Columbia say a new health-care payroll tax will result in higher prices for consumers as companies struggle to absorb the cost.

B.C. Businesses Say New Health Tax Will Raise Prices For Consumers

B.C. Man Facing Murder Charges In Deaths Of Daughters Appears In Court By Video

B.C. Man Facing Murder Charges In Deaths Of Daughters Appears In Court By Video
VICTORIA — A man facing second-degree murder charges in the deaths of his two daughters made a brief court appearance by video on Thursday in Victoria.

B.C. Man Facing Murder Charges In Deaths Of Daughters Appears In Court By Video