WHITING, Ind. – According to a Midwest gasoline analyst, Michigan and the rest of the region will start getting relief from high gas prices soon.
Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.com reports that they’ve obtained confirmation from BP that the Whiting, Indiana refinery that has been on reduced capacity has been safely restarted. The refinery had shut down a crude distillation unit earlier this month due to an unforeseen problem. Gas prices then spiked to $3.00 per gallon throughout the Midwest while prices around the country have continued to drop. Some areas of the country have gas prices now below $2.00 per gallon.
DeHaan says that gas prices in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin could drop 20-50 cents per gallon in the next two weeks.
State Senator John Proos of St. Joseph County says he is encouraging Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to look into the spike in gas prices.
“I am frustrated that hardworking Michigan families were forced to pay more when filling up the car due to a manufacturing failure at a single plant in another state,” Proos said in a press release. “As facilities get back up and running, I will be watching closely to see whether the price drops as fast as it went up two weeks ago.”
Meanwhile, the price of oil is now below $40 per barrel, its lowest price since 2009.
Anyone aware of direct evidence concerning a conspiracy between companies, or have verifiable evidence of a retailer charging a price grossly in excess of the price at which similar property or services are sold, they are encouraged to contact the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-877-765-8388 or file an online complaint at www.michigan.gov/ag.
