Oil prices continue to fall, with Brent crude around $56 per barrel and gasoline dipping below $3 per gallon around the state. But even as crude prices plummet, rural Alaskans are unlikely to see major savings this winter.
Sean Thomas, the vice president of energy and shipping corporation Crowley Maritime, said western Alaska’s unique geography contributes to static fuel prices in the region.
“The western Alaska market is not a traditional market that you would see at the corner gas station,” he said. “Those markets are served by very large bulk orders that are placed into tank farms, and then are pretty much locked in by ice. So new product does not get in to those locations until the ice goes out.”
Thomas said the price customers see at a gas station in Nome, for example, reflects the market value of gasoline during the summer, when Crowley purchased the fuel. Gasoline stored in tank farms throughout the winter has already been paid for, and doesn’t fluctuate with world market prices.
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image credit Jenn Ruckel, KNOM
