Gas prices have increased in five US states due to an issue at an ExxonMobil refinery in Illinois. The states affected by the price surge are Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.
What happened
The problem at the ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Illinois, involved a 50,000-barrel-per-day catalytic reformer, which is a unit that converts low-octane fuel into higher-octane material for gasoline. According to Tom Kloza, chief energy advisor at Gulf Oil, this issue led to price jumps in the affected states.
The price increases varied by state, with Michigan seeing the largest rise of approximately 17 cents per gallon, followed by Ohio with a 10-cent increase, Indiana with an 8-cent increase, Kentucky with a 6-cent increase, and Illinois with a 2.5-cent increase. These price changes were reported by the American Automobile Association (AAA) from Wednesday to Thursday.
ExxonMobil is working to resolve the operational issue at the refinery, but no timeline for a fix has been provided. Meanwhile, wholesale prices in the region have climbed an additional 25 cents per gallon, which may lead to further price hikes at gas stations. However, Kloza believes that the price spike should not last and expects Great Lakes gasoline prices to fall before the end of the month.
The current average gas price in Michigan is $4.61 per gallon, compared to a national average of $4.27 and $3.04 in Michigan a year ago. The price surge has been attributed to the refinery issue, as well as some modest maintenance at a refinery in Ohio run by Cenovus.
