With gas prices in Grande Prairie ranging anywhere between $1.34/L and $1.45/L, drivers are digging deep to fill up their tanks, and one expert says, unfortunately, no relief is on the way.
Head of Petroleum Analysis with GasBuddy.com, Patrick De Haan, says despite the price of a barrel of oil hitting highs not really seen since 2014, the average price in many provinces continue to press into record territory, with prices nationally now clipping the $1.50/L. He says the uncertainty with the situation on the eastern Ukraine border is making a big impact on prices as well.
“Unfortunately, because of what is going on overseas with Russia, it’s very unlikely at this point that we will see any meaningful decline,” he says.
“While we saw a brief dip in the last couple of months, we are now pressing back close to that 1.40/L mark… so just a few more cents a litre and we will be back at the 2021 high, which I expect here in the weeks ahead.”
De Haan adds as winter slowly begins to turn into spring, the warmer weather will also bring an annual influx in prices, and without any relief in the short term, will add to the pain at the pump.
“In March, we start the transition into more expensive summer gasoline, so, unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of good news, that is we probably won’t see much relief, and gas prices in most of Alberta will likely continue rising,” he adds.
He says, however, he does expect more normalized prices in the months and years ahead, as the supply chain and oil producers continue to raise production.
“Unfortunately, in the short term, Canadians are going to have a dig a little bit deeper to fill their tanks.”