Drivers around the Peace Country are seeing a slight dip in the price at the pump, as on average prices are down five cents per litre, making the average price of gas 159.9/L. This is the second week in a row that prices across the province have decreased and Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy Patrick DeHaan says the decrease is due to refinery issues from earlier in the fall being addressed.Â
“In addition, the price of oil jumping to $93 a barrel after OPEC’s surprise decision to cut production has cooled off as well. They are down around $10 to $84 barrel, that is also helping to drop prices a little,” DeHaan says.
Even with the decrease, drivers still see historically high gas prices at the pump. DeHaan says that there are a couple of factors at play, the first being the ongoing situation in Russia. Western sanctions on Russia are playing the main factor in the price of gas being higher than it was a year ago. He says that while Russia continues to fight a war in Ukraine we will not see prices go back down to what Canadians would consider normal until there is a long-term solution or leadership change in the country.
“A lot of western companies have exited Russia, ceasing operations. So even if Russia exits Ukraine, there still will not be a sudden increase in companies interested in Russia,” Dehaan says. “So it will take a lot for us to see prices go back to normal.”
DeHaan explains that refinery issues also are playing a factor while during the pandemic refineries across Canada were closed with a number of them being closed permanently. So even if Russia were to exit Ukraine tomorrow, gas prices are not expected to make a complete drop until the refinery issue is addressed.
