W. MI sees surge in gas prices: What’s behind it?

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Gas prices throughout West Michigan have risen sharply in recent days, prompting concerns about the duration and extent of this trend. However, the situation extends beyond West Michigan, affecting the entire Midwest.

According to GasBuddy, a recent weather-related power outage at an ExxonMobil refinery in Illinois is a significant factor driving up prices.

On July 15, one of the 24 tornadoes that struck Illinois caused two transmission towers to collapse. This led to a week-long shutdown at the Joliet refinery, which, as reported by GasBuddy, is responsible for about 15 percent of the region’s gas and diesel production. The refinery’s downtime resulted in a loss of approximately 45 million gallons of fuel.

Despite the restoration of power, Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, indicates that it will take time for the refinery to become fully operational. He likens the process to preheating an oven.

“It may take you and I 15 or 25 minutes to get this very small oven back up to temperature. A refinery is much, much larger, and it takes a lot of heat built up over days to get these refinery units back online,” he explained. “That’s why a power outage is actually probably the most crippling thing for a refinery—a refinery has to be preheated back to get these units up to temperature, and that can take several days of what you would call ‘preheating.'”

De Haan predicts that it could take a week or two for gas prices to normalize, depending on ExxonMobil’s damage assessment. Should the damage prove more severe than anticipated, there is a possibility of further temporary price spikes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.