An official with GasBuddy said that while fuel prices have continued to rise in Georgia and across the United States, drivers may see some slight relief at the pump ahead of the fourth of July holiday.
Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, was recently on WDUN's Newsroom and said he was hopeful for a 10 to 20 cent drop in fuel prices before the fourth of July. However, he said the potential for a drop in fuel prices depends on several outlying variables.
"There are a lot of unknowns," DeHaan said. "The situation between Russia and Ukraine could worsen. We could see hurricanes this summer that could impair our ability to produce things like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. So, there's a lot still to think about, and we're not going to be in the clear for quite some time."
DeHaan said Russia is one of the world's largest oil producers, so the war in Ukraine has negatively impacted global supply.
"Not only that, but because of COVID we've lost some refining capacity here in the United States, that has lost the ability to turn as much oil into things like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel over the last few years," DeHaan said.
While the overall supply of fuel is down, DeHaan said people are ready to get out and travel, which has created an even larger discrepancy between supply and demand.
While critics have blamed President Joe Biden for the current increase in fuel prices in the United States, DeHaan said the Biden administration is not entirely to blame.
"Most of this is not the administration's fault," DeHaan said. "It's because of things like COVID, and ... Russia's invasion. Now, having said that, the President could react today by rescinding some of the policies that, while they're not having a major impact today, as time progresses, they would have more of an impact. That is things like drilling. The president should and probably could provide more clarity to oil companies that would then boost drilling, boost investment. If the president chooses not to do that, well, in the future, he certainly will be more at fault."
The full interview with DeHaan can be found in the SoundCloud player at the top of this story.
