B.C. gas prices expected to go way up because of Fort Mac fire affecting production

[pastarocket]

It's time to fill up our gas tanks fast before lower gas supplies affect the prices at gas stations.

Summer driving and lower gas production in Alberta because of the Fort Mac fire can result in even higher gas prices.

Could a fuel shortage in Alberta due to the Fort McMurray wildfire lead to BC pumps running dry? - NEWS 1130

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A shortage of fuel out of Alberta because of the Fort McMurray wildfire could soon drive up gas prices here in BC.

Some pumps in Kelowna as of this morning are already bone dry. And there are concerns we here on the Lower Mainland could soon be in a similar situation.

This is all happening because Suncor, which is one of the main supplies in the west, isn’t producing right now because of the fire.

Dan McTeague with GasBuddy.com says no one saw this coming because refineries in Canada don’t provide updates on their output until it’s too late. He adds it has taken gas stations and drivers by surprise.

“We are also dealing in an era when American drivers are posting record demand and consumption for gasoline. It means there is a chance for higher volatility. [You should] gas up now because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

“We do need to know week to week the supply and demand picture. I think it gives the market a much clearer understanding of what’s going on. It’s more transparency for consumers and for analysts to be able to at least assist where those companies need help.”

Here in Metro Vancouver, you may have noticed gas did go up a bit overnight; McTeague thinks there will be another jump at the pump this weekend — by at least a couple of cents by tomorrow morning

[GLOW]

i feel like they just wait for any event and find some excuse to raise gas prices.
if donald trump farted on TV....gas prices would go up...

[MG1]

So true..........

On a side note, I bet border crossing will be busy.

[RCubed]

Gas prices spiked 12c/L here in Edmonton today

[IMASA]

Originally Posted by GLOW

i feel like they just wait for any event and find some excuse to raise gas prices.
if donald trump farted on TV....gas prices would go up...

This is true.

When the average guy goes to Costco and see a sale on daily use items (toilet paper, kitchen paper, etc), they stock up and buy more than they need right now, knowing they'll need it in the future.

Oil prices have tanked since July 1 2015. You telling me oil refineries didn't buy all that shit up when oil dropped to $28/barrel just a few months ago? OPEC has said they're not changing production. SA is continuing to pump oil out despite low prices. Iran wants in after years of sanctions. I still think there is way more supply than demand out there.

[MarkyMark]

Whatever it's Vancouver everyone can afford it apparently

[Nlkko]

Doubt it. Fort Mac supply is so irrelevant that a dip in said supply won't do shit to the gas price, which correlates to the US oil price. If it rises, look for other cause such as the world crude price, which has been rising from the low 20s a few months back.

[dat_steve]

yeah i was wondering that as well. does Fort Mac really account for the majority of gas production/supply for the entire western Canada? sounded like nonsense when i heard it on the news today

[Reeyal]

Originally Posted by dat_steve

yeah i was wondering that as well. does Fort Mac really account for the majority of gas production/supply for the entire western Canada? sounded like nonsense when i heard it on the news today

Fort McMurray wildfire forces a quarter of Canada?s oil output off-line - The Globe and Mail

Fort McMurray wildfire forces a quarter of Canada’s oil output off-line

[ziggyx]

^ I was gonna post another source but basically the same thing. In western Canada the oil sands and fort mac are a big contributor to Canada's oil production.

Originally Posted by IMASA

Oil prices have tanked since July 1 2015. You telling me oil refineries didn't buy all that shit up when oil dropped to $28/barrel just a few months ago? OPEC has said they're not changing production. SA is continuing to pump oil out despite low prices. Iran wants in after years of sanctions. I still think there is way more supply than demand out there.

I believe the oil refineries in Alberta are mostly owned and operated by the companies that mine the oil sands (ie Imperial Oils, Shell, Suncor, etc.). Therefore, the oil refineries don't "buy their own supply". Also, I don't think oil refineries have the capacity to stock pile crude oil for months on end.

[swiftshift]

Originally Posted by GLOW

i feel like they just wait for any event and find some excuse to raise gas prices.
if donald trump farted on TV....gas prices would go up...

:ilied :

[roastpuff]

It just jumped in my area - this morning it was 112.9, now it went to 124.9 at lunchtime!!!

I quickly went to Superstore which was still at 112.9 and filled up. The perils of having a 121-litre tank... I was down to 1/3rd already haha.

[Traum]

I wonder if this ripoff price hike will also affect Point Roberts, Blaine, and Bellingham?

[Manic!]

The reason why some gas stations in Kelowna ran out of gas is because the Suncor refinery in Edmonton was shut down and it supplies Petrocan stations in Kelowna. Lower mainland and Vancouver Island stations will not run out of gas because we use the Chevron refinery in Burnaby.

[Y2K_o__o]

Originally Posted by IMASA

This is true.

When the average guy goes to Costco and see a sale on daily use items (toilet paper, kitchen paper, etc), they stock up and buy more than they need right now, knowing they'll need it in the future.

Oil prices have tanked since July 1 2015. You telling me oil refineries didn't buy all that shit up when oil dropped to $28/barrel just a few months ago? OPEC has said they're not changing production. SA is continuing to pump oil out despite low prices. Iran wants in after years of sanctions. I still think there is way more supply than demand out there.

Corporate don't work this way because they have to present a good number in the monthly balance sheet to the investors. The less inventory the better it is. This is a lean practice for many industries.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by pastarocket

This is all happening because Suncor, which is one of the main supplies in the west, isn’t producing right now because of the fire.

Suncor doesn't supply every gas station in BC, yet people seem to think every station is going to run out of gas.

[smoothie.]

always so quick for the prices to go up, yet it takes months to a year for them to come back down....

[Vansterdam]

Originally Posted by Manic!

The reason why some gas stations in Kelowna ran out of gas is because the Suncor refinery in Edmonton was shut down and it supplies Petrocan stations in Kelowna. Lower mainland and Vancouver Island stations will not run out of gas because we use the Chevron refinery in Burnaby.

is it still gas from the Chevron refinery, if its not a Chevron gas station?

[jasonturbo]

How did people not see this coming?????

Margins for consumer fuels such as gasoline and diesel represent the some of the lowest of the refining industry, the margins on products such as asphalts, plastics, and fertilizers is typically much higher - This is the result of intense competition in the consumer fuels segment and the fact that a barrel of oil will yield far more consumer fuels than any other type of product.



Many people assume that gas prices are severely manipulated and that's simply not the case, prices are 100% determined by supply and demand aka the market. While most large cap oil companies are integrated and will often buy crude oil from other business units within the company, it's not at all unheard of for producer companies to purchase crude from other producers for their refineries.

IE: When Albian Sands shuts down for expected or unexpected maintance and is unable to supply their downstream refinery with crude, they will reach out to other producers to purchase crude to ensure refinery operations are not interrupted. Ultimately many of these companies move their crude though common pipelines to common terminals operated by pipeline companies such as Enbridge, it is very easy to divert a batch of 400K BBL's from Suncor to any refinery downstream of the pipeline terminal.

You have to consider the massive volume of crude which is refined in Alberta every single day, approximately 1.4M BBL/Day. When you remove 1M BBL/Day of supply (Suncor, Syncrude, Albian, Husky) it doesn't take long to consume all excess crude supply that is stored in caverns and tanks... personally I'm shocked this didn't happen sooner, be glad it didn't, the pain at the pump shouldn't last very long.

Edit: For those who don't know, the refiners in Alberta supply the majority of fuels for all of Western Canada, all the way to Thunder Bay ON actually.

[asian_XL]

can't wait for my model 3 to be delivered....patiently waiting.

[Dave_1063]

So please explain why when hurricane Katrina hit, gas in Canada went way up with the explanation that Canada gets it's majority of gasoline from Texas and The Gulf Coast, and the hurricane had knocked most oil refineries out. Same with the BP blowout....raised gas in Canada because of that. So what, now we get most of our gasoline from Ft. Mac? Ft. Mac couldn't even begin to supply all our gasoline. Just another cheap excuse to rip us all off more than we already are. And to use the fire that destroyed many people's lives to cash grab is absolutely heartless. And in today's newspaper was an article about how the BC Liberals took the fuel tax off jet fuel to "help" the airlines (as if they are going broke) How about dropping gas taxes for us common folk?

[hotjoint]

Not surprised. They'll keep bringing up anything to increase our gas prices.

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by Vansterdam

is it still gas from the Chevron refinery, if its not a Chevron gas station?

Yes all the gas stations use the same refinery. The base gas is the same for every company it just the additives they add that make a difference.

[geeknerd]

Gas prices have always had a spike during the summer in BC. TBH 120 doesn't seem bad at all. It was around there last year this time. The year before that was at 140 or smthing.

[Reeyal]

We are so dependent on gas that they can do whatever, and we will just keep on buying gas.

The oil and gas industry is like a roller coaster ride. We were at a low point during the end of last year and beginning of this year. Just wait it out...