Gas Prices On The Rise In The Wake Of Hurricane Harvey

Gas prices in Canada are set to shoot up this weekend as U.S. oil production falters in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

The CBC says the storm that inflicted widespread damage to homes and businesses in Texas also forced the shutdown of oil refineries in that state, and the resulting interruption in gasoline supply is behind a projected 15 cent/litre hike in Ontario gas prices this weekend.

And according to Dan McTeague of GasBuddy.com, more price increases could come next week; while some Gulf Coast refineries affected by the storm have restarted production, as much as 30 per cent of U.S. refinery capacity remains offline, which could force U.S. companies to buy Canadian oil to feed America's larger market for gasoline and diesel.

McTeague and petroleum analyst Roger McKnight said the storms effect on Texas and Gulf Coast refineries and a shutdown of the Colonial pipeline that shuttles oil to a New Jersey refinery that supplies much of eastern North America could drive gas prices in southern Ontario as high as $1.30/litre this weekend.