Gasoline prices in Vancouver spiked twice over the weekend by 38 cents
Metro Vancouver drivers were greeted this weekend with some eye-watering gasoline prices, thanks to refining issues.
Meanwhile, gasoline prices have declined in Eastern Canada by about five cents per litre in cities like Toronto and Montreal. The Sturgeon refinery in Edmonton is down for maintenance. The shutdown started in early August and was expected to last for two months. The refinery makes diesel, as well as naptha, a component of high octane gasoline. Despite the shutdown of the Sturgeon refinery, diesel prices are actually down by about five cents per litre across the country.
"I don't know that I've ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career. A slew of unexpected refinery disruptions, including fires and routine maintenance, have seemingly all happened in a short span of time, causing wholesale gas prices to spike in areas of the West Coast, Great Lakes and Prairies - and some of those areas could see prices spike another 10-20 cents per litre or more until issues are worked out.
Starting in mid-July, they began falling, partly in response to the release of strategic oil reserves in the U.S., with the North American benchmark, West Texas Intermediate now sitting at US$77 per barrel – the lowest price since the beginning of January 2022.