Gas Prices Shoot Upwards in Oregon This Past Week

Published 05/14/2013

(Oregon Coast) – Only two weeks ago you could see some startlingly low gas prices around Oregon: a few stations in the Beaverton area were down to around $3.40 a gallon. (Above: Depoe Bay)

This week, however, saw a sharp rise in prices, with the average price per gallon shooting up 25 cents in Oregon and along the Oregon coast. The Oregon average is now $3.93 a gallon for regular unleaded, but some stations in Beaverton and SW Portland can be seen at over $4 per gallon.

Oregon's AAA said tight supplies at a West Coast refinery are to blame, along with some production issues. The West Coast is getting hit the hardest in all the U.S., including California, Washington and Oregon.

“The national average for regular unleaded adds six cents this week to $3.58, which is the largest weekly increase since February,” said AAA's Marie Dodds.

Above: Lincoln City

Dodds said this current spike makes it the highest week-over-week increase since February 2012 when the Oregon average jumped 24 cents.

Gas is sometimes 10 to 15 cents higher per gallon on the Oregon coast than inland. Newport tends to be the least expensive on the coast, but only by a few cents. Gas can be a little higher in north coast towns like Seaside, Astoria, Manzanita (Nehalem) and Cannon Beach.

AAA said gas supplies have actually increased a tad this last week, but the West Coast remains vulnerable because of these localized issues. The situation on the West Coast and in Oregon is only expected to worsen, however.

Among the list of refinery issues are a complex in Anacortes, Washington that is dealing with fluid catalytic cracker problems, a Shell facility in California that had to shut down due to a valve leak, and a crude unit issue at a Phillips 66 refinery in Ferndale, Washington.

Refineries are also starting to switch to the more expensive summer blends of fuel, which is part of the problem of supply at an Exxon Mobil facility in Torrance, California.

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