The cold snap's icy grip appears to be on the way to exacting some pain at Prince George gas pumps.
Petro-Canada gas stations in the city were posting $1.54.9 per litre on Thursday, a jump of roughly 12 cents from the day before.
A quick drive around the Bowl showed other outlets staying in the range of $1.42.4 to $1.42.9 but if past trends hold out, those prices will also be on the way up in the coming days.
Prince George is not the only community feeling the hurt.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com, said the average for B.C. was $1.56.6, a record high and, according to the service's website, drivers filling up in Surrey were paying $1.65.9 as of Thursday. Conversely, $1.36.9 was the reigning price in Kelowna.
De Haan attributed much of the jump to "myriad problems" refineries in the Pacific Northwest have had with the extreme cold over the holiday season, combined with the further rise in percentage-based taxes that come with any increase in the wholesale price.
"The western half of Canada is very much tied to the U.S. fuel markets there in Washington State," De Haan said. "The wholesale price of gasoline in gallons jumped 20 cents in one day last week which, if you divide by litres, would be about a five-a-quarter-cent jump per litre. And then keep in mind B.C.'s various taxes - it's never a five-cent jump, the taxes enhance it."
De Haan also noted a rise in the price of oil as West Texas Intermediate struck US$80 per barrel on Thursday, nearly $5 more than the price on December 31.
Freezing temperatures broadsided refineries in the Pacific Northwest, according to De Haan, who alluded to similar trouble refineries had in Texas, Louisiana and Texas when a cold snap hit that region slightly less than a year ago.
"Refineries, they're exposed to the elements but it doesn't make sense to spend millions of dollars insulating the most critical parts for a one-in-20-year cold snap," De Haan said.
"And so these refineries that are sitting outside in the Pacific Northwest, going from say five to 10 degree Celsius weather to say zero or sub-zero Celsius can have some issues...and it can be something a simple as a frozen valve or a valve that is stuck shut. All it takes is one small disruption to upset the complete facility."
The Tidewater Midstream Ltd. refinery in Prince George managed to get through this region's deep freeze relatively unharmed, according to Tom Hems, the company's director of investor relations.
"We have had some challenges but staff has worked really hard to battle through the cold weather and we haven't had any material impacts to the refinery," Hems said. "We are in a little better position, knowing that we are in a colder climate versus a lot of the other refineries, especially in the Pacific Northwest."
Looking ahead, things might not get any better.
Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, predicts North America could be in for a gasoline price shock by summer, and that prices could reach $1.85 per litre in the Lower Mainland.
Barring a global recession or another paralyzing wave of COVID-19 and its variants, in 2022 higher demand for oil from a recovering economy and short supplies could result in some dramatic gasoline price increases, McTeague predicts.
- with files from Nelson Bennett, Glacier Media
