Hurricane Harvey knocked two of the country’s largest oil refineries offline – and the impact of that is already being felt throughout the state.
An NBC affiliate in Dallas is reporting that one station is charging more than $8 per gallon for gas. The picture below, taken while its chopper was cruising around town, was of the 76 at the intersection of Castle Drive and Lavon Drive in Garland.
No thanks https://t.co/wKl1jEmThX pic.twitter.com/qWrBUKcK2f
— NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) August 31, 2017
Other gas stations in Dallas are already facing long lines and viewers have reported other prices of up to $5 per gallon, reports KXAS.
Erik Kotanchik, vice president of Fuel City in Dallas, told the station he expected things to get worse before they improved.
“We’re OK but it’s not good. This is the worst it’s been in 30 years,” he said.
The national average of a price of gas is $2.449, according to AAA. Texas’ average is $2.257, up more than 11 cents from a week ago. National averages have jumped a dime in that time.
A Category 4 hurricane, Harvey knocked out 11% of the U.S. refining capabilities as well as a quarter of oil production from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Fear of a national shortage send gas futures up 7% in early trading on Monday.