Gas price tracking databases like the American Automobile Association and GasBuddy show that amid a statewide surge in prices for gasoline, Humboldt and Del Norte counties were among the highest on Monday — not unusual for the region that joins other rural counties who pay the highest prices.
California’s state average for regular gas was $5.35 Monday while Humboldt County sat at $5.84, according to AAA. GasBuddy reported prices at gas stations ranged from $5 at Play Station 777 in Blue Lake to $6 at Shell in Eureka.
“Almost always, the gas prices go up every spring,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. He attributed the statewide surge to a few causes. He says the increase gradually started around January, but became more significant in March and April.
“Gas prices almost never move for just one or two reasons,” he said, rather a combination of factors. In this case, he said refineries in California do maintenance in the spring and produce less gasoline during this time. Plus, demand goes up and California uses a special blend for cleaner air emissions that has logistical constraints.
The higher prices locally aren’t anything new; Humboldt County is slightly more expensive than the rest of the state because gas has to be trucked or barged into the county from the Chevron refinery in Richmond. De Haan said less competition in rural areas also impacts the price.
California consistently pays the highest prices for gasoline in the country – Monday’s national average of about $3.60 is about two dollars lower than what California is looking at, according to AAA. De Hann said there’s less refineries in the state, less pipelines and policies incentivizing a switch to renewable energy, which means less output. In the past week, the state of California is up 22 cents from last week.
An anti-gouging law in California went into effect last year that required more reporting of oil and gas companies and created the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight.
De Haan expects prices to plateau in the next six to eight weeks, but added there can be factors like unexpected refinery disruptions that can flare up at any time. Seasonal changes are sometimes not predictable; like last year’s surge nationally in prices in October, a time of year prices usually fall.
Sage Alexander can be reached at 707-441-0504
