Energy

Gas Falls Toward $1

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: January 31, 2016 9:06 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 1:52 pm

The odds gas falls to a $1 gallon of regular no longer counts as a remote possibility. In some areas of the U.S., the dip creates odds which make that price more likely.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States has dropped to just above $1.80. The national average does not mean much. All gas prices are local. The price of a gallon at one station in Kansas City has dropped to $1.24. The highest price in the country is $5.99 at a station in Florida, according to GasBuddy.

The $1.24 price is an anomaly. Most of the least expensive gas is found at stations near Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Of the 50 stations with the lowest gas prices, 49 are in Oklahoma, most in a cluster in and around the towns of Muskogee and Skiatook.

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The low prices at stations in Oklahoma make sense. The average price for a gallon of gas in Oklahoma is $1.47, the only state with less than $1.50 gas.

Oklahoma drivers have several advantages. The state not only produces huge amounts of oil, but it is near the huge refineries south of Houston on the Gulf Coast. Transportation costs are a major portion of gas prices.

Gas taxes and levies by state also affect gas prices. The sum in Oklahoma is $0.354 a gallon, according to the America Petroleum Institute. The national average is $0.48. The state with the highest amount is Pennsylvania at $0.688.

Will the Oklahoma price drop more? Oil prices per barrel are $34 now, but have dropped below $30. Some experts expect the price to drop to $20. At the $20 level, there could be some stations with gasoline for less than $1 a gallon.