Delaware motorists can expect some price volatility at the pump following last weekend’s attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
The drone attacks hit on two major Saudi oil facilities - including the world’s largest - last Saturday.
The strikes immediately shut off more than half of that country’s daily exports, or about 5% of the world's crude production.
“When you have something like this occur that knocks out 5% of the global crude oil supply, then you’re looking at that having an impact,” said Ken Grant, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
He says so far the Mid-Atlantic region is seeing less of spike than other parts of the country - with the current average price for a gallon of regular in the First State sitting at $2.48. But Grant says a bump in pump prices is anticipated.
“We’re expecting to see that translate into maybe 20- to 25-cents per gallon more over the next few months than we normally would have seen,” Grant said.
Grant says at the start of this week, crude oil was trading for $5 per barrel more than at last Friday’s close, up to $61 per barrel, a price point not seen since May. As of Wednesday, it dropped back to $56.
In the Philadelphia area, gas is averaging about $2.76, while in South Jersey it sits around $2.55 per gallon and in Maryland the average is $2.71.
Grant points out that drivers usually catch a break this time of the year, as gas refineries transition from summer blend gasoline to the cheaper winter blend - but the attacks on Saudi oil facilities are interrupting that decline.
