By Jeff Wendt
Mail

Maintenance on refineries in California are leading Arizona drivers to brace for an increase in gas prices this week.

The average price for a gallon of gas in Maricopa County is $3.86, up four cents from a week ago. The state average is $3.59, up three cents from a week ago.

“Late summer/early fall is historically when some oil refineries go for seasonal maintenance,” said spokesman Julian Paredes from AAA Arizona. “This happens about twice a year and is normal. Gas prices rise during these maintenance periods due to the loss of supply, but it is temporary. But once maintenance is done, gas prices usually drop quickly.”

The national average is $3.20 a gallon. Arizona ranks as the seventh most expensive gas market in the county, with California leading the way at $4.65 a gallon.

Arizona State University professor of practice in the Department of Supply Chain Management Hitendra Chaturvedi said there are a couple of things driving the increase, Chaturvedi said

“Arizona also uses five different types of 'blends' across various parts of the state,” Chaturvedi said. “We have different people producing different blends so if one goes down, we have a problem. If we had fewer blends, we could be pulling from one big pool reducing shortage risks.”

The hope is for price to drop, but Parades and Chaturvedi have different thoughts.

“The historic trend is that gas prices peak during summer, bounce a bit during maintenance periods before slowly dropping during fall,” Paredes added.

“Many Arizonans hope gas prices will drop, especially given recent declines compared to a year ago, but a fair number are also skeptical, given how volatile oil markets are, how supply issues (like refinery maintenance, blends, pipeline constraints) keep creeping up, and how summer demand tends to push prices back up,” Chaturvedi said. “Rise of prices across the board is also causing them to be skeptical. So, net-net — confidence is probably mixed: people may expect modest declines or stabilization, but large drops soon might seem unlikely to many.”