Hurricane hit Gulf Coast, drives up gasoline prices in Atlanta

Monday $3.798

A week earlier $3.722

A month earlier $3.465

A year earlier $3.578

Highest recorded average price: $4.114, 9/16/2008

Source: AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report — Data provided by Oil Price Information Service in cooperation with Wright Express

Oil and gas platforms evacuated: 505, or 84.73 percent of the total in the Gulf of Mexico

Rigs evacuated: 50, or 65.79 percent of the total in the Gulf of Mexico

Barrels of oil per day shut in: 1,307,076, or 94.72 percent of Gulf of Mexico production

Natural gas shut in: 3.2 billion cubic feet, or 71.64 percent of Gulf of Mexico production

Source: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

Hurricane Isaac’s attack on the Gulf Coast has helped push gas prices to their highest level of the summer, just as many metro Atlantans are preparing for Labor Day road trips.

Average gas prices in metro Atlanta jumped nearly 10 cents in one day to hit $3.89 for a gallon of regular unleaded Wednesday, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Prices for regular gas in Atlanta ranged from about $3.65 a gallon to $4.19 a gallon on GasBuddy.com. Atlanta’s gas prices Wednesday also were higher than the national average of $3.80.

“We’re seeing pretty aggressive price spikes,” said GasBuddy.com analyst Gregg Laskoski.

Atlanta gets much of its gasoline from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi refineries, so Isaac indirectly hits home, according to Oil Price Information Service’s chief oil analyst Tom Kloza.

Operators shut in an estimated 95 percent of daily oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. It said about 505 oil and natural gas production platforms and 50 rigs were evacuated, which make up a majority of the manned platforms and rigs operating in the Gulf.

The precautionary shutdown of the refineries reduced the supply of gasoline, pushing up prices — at least temporarily.

“We’ll know more… once workers are able to get back to refineries and platforms in the Gulf to assess any damages,” said AAA spokeswoman Jessica Brady. “That will give us a better idea of how high and how long we can expect gas prices to increase.”

Gasoline inventories already had been down this month, which can drive prices up.

In anticipation of the storm, “fears of gasoline scarcity” sent the price of contracts for future delivery of gasoline up, pushing up prices at the pump, according to Gainesville-based Mansfield Oil’s FUELSNews report. On Wednesday, Isaac was “expected to continue affecting supply in the central Gulf Coast,” according to Mansfield’s report.

With supplies already down, a rush on gasoline at the pump can also goose demand and push prices up further, according to Laskoski.

“When consumers top off their tank even when they’re not going anywhere, it makes fuel prices spike even higher than they might have,” he said.

But barring any significant damage to oil refineries or platforms, experts said consumers probably won’t have to worry about localized gas shortages that accompanied record high local gas prices in 2008 when refineries were hit by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and panic ensued.

This time around, if refineries can resume operations quickly, oil industry experts expect lower gas prices by mid-September — helped by slower travel in the fall and the return of cheaper winter-blend gasoline without the expensive additives required in the summer.

Still, gas prices could remain relatively high for the Labor Day weekend, one of several big holidays for car travel. AAA Travel projects 790,132 Georgians will travel by car over the long weekend, up 3 percent year-over-year. Atlanta is expected to be the ninth worst city in the nation for Labor Day traffic this year, according to traffic information firm INRIX.

Most motorists are expected to be undeterred by high gas prices. TripAdvisor said its survey indicated 84 percent of travelers said rising gas prices will not affect their fall travel plans. Those changing plans expect to drive shorter distances or drive less often.

“You’re going to see retail gas prices higher this week,” Kloza said. But, he predicted, “You’ll be paying substantially less by the end of September.”