Consumers, owners feel pain at the pump

Consumers continue to watch the prices at the pump, even as the cost of gas has leveled off and started to decline in some areas. 
Gasoline prices were on the rise nationwide for several months, and the increase accelerated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The national average, as of July 19, was $4.495 for a gallon of gas, according to gasprices.aaa.com, and Wyoming and Weston County have not been immune to the escalation. According to GasBuddy, the average gas price in Wyoming is $4.73 per gallon, and the lowest price noted across the state is $3.97, as of July 19.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, gas prices often fluctuate due to volatility of crude oil prices. According to marketwatch.com, crude oil settlement price was at $102.60 per barrel as of July 18. Other factors include supply and demand, meaning the higher the demand, the harder it is for suppliers to catch up on product, resulting in higher prices. Taxes also contribute to gas prices.
“Gasoline prices tend to increase when the available supply of gasoline decreases relative to real or expected gasoline demand or consumption. Gasoline prices can change rapidly if something disrupts crude oil supplies, refinery operations, or gasoline pipeline deliveries. Even when crude oil prices are stable, gasoline prices fluctuate because of seasonal changes in demand and in gasoline specifications,” the website explains.
According to an article by National Public Radio, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine is significantly impacting gas prices due to the ensuing sanctions on Russian oil, taxing the supply. 
Many are feeling the effects of the uptick in prices at the pump, whether consumers, gas stations or others. Danielle Doell, manager at the Short Stop in Newcastle, said that the prices they offer for gas depend on how much they have to pay their supplier. 
“It all depends on what we’re paying for gas. That’s what we look at first, and then we adjust from there,” Doell said. 
Short Stop is owned locally by Tom Frank, who purchased the store in 2018, and the way they price their gas may differ from corporately owned gas stations. Doell said that every time they receive a delivery, she checks around town to note other local prices, compares them to what they paid for their delivery and calculates the cost from there. 
“We’ve seen bigger increases than the owner has seen since he’s bought the store,” Doell said of the past several months. She added that prices have spiked as much as $0.30 per gallon in one delivery. 
While Doell admitted she doesn’t know exactly what has caused the current situation, she feels that the Biden administration’s restrictions on drilling have affected the supply and demand chain. 
For example, in January 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order halting new oil and gas leases on federal lands. Later, in June, a federal judge in Louisiana “ordered that plans be resumed for lease sales that were delayed for the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska,” according to a National Public Radio article, after Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry led a lawsuit against the Biden administration for his executive order. Then, in June of this year, federal oil and gas drilling lease sales resumed. 
Doell expressed frustration because the gas prices affect not only the price they charge for gas, affecting the consumer, but also everything they sell in their store. With gas prices higher, delivery prices skyrocket, necessitating a rise in product prices. 
“It affects our prices that we have to charge for the customers … it affects literally everything that we sell,” Doell said. 
Deb Loebs, owner of 4-Way Gas N’ Go, said that she is “held hostage” by the gas prices, just like everyone else. 4-Way has a certain margin of profit to keep, so when prices go up for them, it goes up for their customers, but they are still not making any additional profit. Loebs said she is between a rock and a hard place because she can’t lower the margin of profit without cutting into employees’ wages or other bills that need to be paid. 
Over at Maverik, store manager Jessica Grummons said that because Maverik is a corporately owned gas station, she receives her price updates every morning, completely outside of her control. In addition, because of prices, it hasn’t been a typical summer for travelers, she said. 
“I’m frustrated, as a person, not just as a store manager,” Grummons said. “We just got to ride it out.” 
Prices at Maverik had dropped $0.20 in two days, at the time of Grummons’ interview, she said, so she is hopeful it’s heading in a better direction. 
Local resident Jeff Jordahl said that the gas prices have been difficult for him because he owns a yard service, and he offers lawn mowing and other services. 
“Well it (gas prices) kinda puts me out, because I have a yard service,” he said. “It’s outrageous really …; you can thank Biden for that.” 
Jordahl has had to increase prices for his yard service to compensate for what he’s paying for gas. 
He also said that he hasn’t been traveling much because he can’t afford it. He feels that oil production needs to get back up and running to help ease the stress. 
Upton rancher Justin Mills said that he’s “disgusted” with the prices at the pump. 
“Everything is double this year,” Mills said. “I used to be able to fill up for $72, and now it costs you $150 to fill up.”
Mills thinks that using the resources available in the country and becoming more self-sufficient with energy production would help the issue with prices. 
“If we can continue to utilize the resources we have here in the U.S. and not have to rely on outside sources for oil, we’ve got enough resources here in the United States, in Alaska and off the coast to suffice what we need to do without having to rely on foreign oil,” Mills said.