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Utah drivers are bracing for a continued rise in local gas prices as President Joe Biden on Tuesday banned all Russian oil imports in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Fuel rates in the state are already inching up to record highs. As of Tuesday, the state’s average gas price was $4.01 per gallon — below the nationwide average of $4.17, according to AAA data. The state’s record-high average for unleaded fuel is $4.22 per gallon, which was recorded in July 2008.
Beaver County was the only region in Utah on Tuesday that surpassed the state’s 2008 record, with an average rate of $4.27 per gallon of unleaded fuel, according to AAA data. Summit County and Morgan County followed at $4.22 and $4.21 per gallon, respectively.
In total, 14 of Utah’s 29 counties were averaging above $4 per gallon of unleaded fuel Tuesday, AAA data showed.
Although Salt Lake County’s average for unleaded fuel was about $4.01 per gallon Tuesday, some Salt Lake City pumps were already rivaling the state’s 2008 record-high average: A Sinclair gas station at 1309 Foothill Drive advertised a rate of $4.29 per gallon for unleaded fuel on Tuesday morning; a Maverik station at 2680 S. 2000 East listed its price as $4.19 per gallon.
“I’m trying to combine trips a bit more, and trying to be more conscious about them,” said Eileen Sugiarto, who was filling up her tank at the Sinclair on Foothill Drive while running errands. “The price increases are going to hurt, but I think it’s what we can do for Ukraine.”
Danielle Harrington was topping off her tank at the Maverik on 2680 S. 2000 East early Tuesday. Although she was only down a quarter-tank of fuel, her last gas station trip a week ago was 70 cents cheaper, she said. She didn’t want to risk what prices may look like in a few days.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Danielle Harrington fills up her tank at a gas station on 2000 East, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Harrington said. “[The ban] doesn’t bother me, because I think Russia needs to deal with some consequences, and we’re all going to carry a little bit of that weight. ... It’s other things that I would like to see, like the Keystone Pipeline maybe up and running again.”
How dependent is Utah on Russian oil?
Thom Carter, energy advisor to Gov. Spencer Cox, said how soon gas prices may normalize depends on the situation in Eastern Europe — and on the actions of President Biden to advance American energy independence.
The governor in a letter Monday asked the Biden administration to “end its fight against public land energy development in Western states” by rolling back policies banning oil and gas leases on public lands, something Carter said is a crucial next step to quell the market volatility.
“I think that as long as the federal administration kind of continues to dig their heels in as relates to the oil and gas leasing ban, that will continue to ensure that there is instability in the market,” Carter said. “What’s great about the people of Utah, and really the American people in general, is that in a crisis, we come together. ... But if the federal government isn’t willing to do their part as well, this is what kind of makes us frustrated.”
According to the Associated Press, the U.S. does not import Russian natural gas, which supplies 40% of Europe. The U.S. does import a small amount Russian oil, but Carter said Utah’s portion of that amount is “minimal.”
“Because it’s a national and international market, as much as we have the ability to extract here and refine here, the market is driven by national/international whims,” Carter said. " We can’t really cut ourselves off as a state, and so we have to be able to play in this worldwide market.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gas prices at Maverik on 2000 East in Salt Lake City, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
‘It’s your trucks, it’s your trains, it’s your planes’
Ted Sterling, who manages a tow truck and wrecker service across the Wasatch Front called Adams Towing, was filling up at Sam’s Club at 1905 S 300 on West Tuesday afternoon, where prices were $3.89 per gallon of unleaded fuel for Sam’s Club members.
Since the towing service has a fleet of vehicles, Sterling’s company is facing more of the consequences of Utah’s “horrible” gas prices than the typical driver.
His trucks used to cost about $60-$70 per fill-up. Now, he said, those costs have doubled.
“It’s bad, it’s just bad,” Sterling said. “People don’t realize, you raise your price of your diesel, it’s your trucks, it’s your trains, it’s your planes. It’s everything to do is your food and everything else. So they want to stop inflation, they gotta get these prices down.”