Could Gas Prices in Amarillo Go Up Because of the Cyber Attack?

The days of cheap gas in Amarillo might be coming to an end soon and not for the reasons we think. Everyone wants to get on political leaders for gas prices and i'm sure you have heard the "when so and so was in office they were this..." or "because so and so is in office they are going to do that..." and while presidential politics does factor somewhat into the price we pay it's actually a more intricate web of supply and demand and plenty of external factors that come in to play

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So how does Amarillo compare to the rest of the state?

We actually enjoy some low prices compared to the rest of the state. The US average is currently sitting at 2.98 while here in the lone star it's 2.70 and looking at some of the metros:

• Amarillo $2.55
• Austin: $2.63
• San Antonio $2.49
• D/FW: $2.83
• Houston: $2.54
• El Paso: $2.93

The worst I found was Van Horn, Texas which, if you have been through is one of the loneliest places between El Paso and San Antonio on I-10 sitting at $3.20 a gallon

The Cyber Hack

Most of the lower prices we have been enjoying last year were simple supply and demand, plenty of supply and low demand as not many folks happened to be driving due to Covid-19. I saw prices that I haven't seen since I was a teenager even! But all good things come to an end and as more folks get on the road demand goes up. factor in the costs that refiners pass on for changing from winter to summer blends and you have price increases and in this case a correction back to what is more "Normal" and for now I'm leaving oil prices out because that in itself is a whole pandora's box.

That is until you have what happened with the Colonial Pipeline. In a nutshell the company was held ransom by cyber attackers and shutdown their pipe supplying gasoline to many southern and east coast markets. right now there is enough supply and the Biden administration has loosened up transport rules to get trucks in affected areas faster. However these transportation costs do get passed on ultimately to us. and as the pipeline continues to stay out of service, shortages could come to the east that drives up demand, raising prices in return.

So what does the East Coast have to do with Amarillo?

As demand goes up, supply goes down. supply goes down, price goes up. eventually as price goes up, transportation costs for goods and services go up with it. While we may not see it at our local gas pumps (we aren't supplied by the colonial pipeline,) We'll see it in the cost of food and other goods go up as it becomes more expensive to transport. Hopefully there is a quick resolution and things don't get too out of hand

If you happen to be curious... here's how much gas was when you started driving: