Energy Department's Expected Higher Gas Prices Attributed to Libya Turmoil
"We should be concerned that unrest will affect oil prices and, consequently, impact the economy," he says. "Today, according to AAA, the average cost of gas in the U.S. is $3.17 a gallon. A number of years ago, it went to $4. At that point, you begin to see it have a significant impact on discretionary spending by consumers."
Why is gas still $3 a gallon at the pump in the Midwest? Because, says Lipow, we have a glut of crude right now in the Midwest, but we can't easily get that crude to refiners on the East Coast, the West Coast or to refineries on the Gulf.
Since those refineries can't make use of it, they instead have to use imported oil selling at $105 a barrel, not the $90 quoted on the Chicago Merc.
Meantime, Lipow says, the United States continues exporting 15 percent to 20 percent of the gasoline and diesel distilled right here on our own shores.
"Our refineries are tooled to make a lot of gasoline -- not only for our domestic needs, but for exports," he says.
If Libyan oil became unavailable altogether, how would that affect pump prices?
Right now, says Lipow, the United States has 726 million barrels of various grades of crude stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
"The SPR is in fact full, but we have no government reserve of gasoline or diesel," he says.
Even so, 726 million gallons buys a lot of breathing room. "If Libya provides us with less than 1 percent of what we need in crude, we'd still have several years of supply," Lipow says.
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