Why Have Wyoming Gas Prices Jumped UP Again?
The price of gas in Wyoming has snuck up a bit since the end of last year.
Why?
In fact, look across the nations and the price has crept up everywhere.
There are many reasons for the price of gas.
Often people will just blame the president or just blame the oil companies.
Here are some of the reasons for gas price fluctuations:
War.
Local unrest in other nations.
Crude oil speculation on the market exchanges.
Federal taxes, and not just at the pump but taxes on production.
The Federal permitting process keeps getting longer.
Federal regulations are constantly changing.
Federal regulations do not allow for more drilling and refining.
Federal regulations that do not allow for new refineries to be built
Distribution problems.
Local permitting on drilling, production, and distribution.
Local taxes.
Local regulations at the gas pump.
Local economies make for big differences in pricing, region by region.
Currently, the highest prices in the nation are:
California: $4.446
Washington: $4.060
Nevada: $3.956
Alaska: $3.722
Currently, the lowest prices in the nation are:
Texas: $3.046
Kansas: $3.056
Mississippi: $3.064
Oklahoma: $3.087
Arkansas: $3.098
Here in Wyoming, our prices sit at about average for the nation.
We have ticked up a bit like everyone else.
Heavy snow has caused some delays in getting fuel to our stations. That will drive up prices a bit. It usually happens when we get a lot of snow.
The best way to lower prices is to lower regulations to a few sensible ones that we need and keep them that way.
Under current government regulations, when oil is found, it takes 10 years or more to get to it.
But as was shown during the big oil boom in North Dakota, a few years back, when we only have a few sensible regulations, oil can be extracted and refined in a matter of months.
Folks who work in the industry will tell you that one of their biggest problems is ever-growing regulations that make what they do expensive, and overly time-consuming.