How long will Edmonton's cheap gas last?

The price of gas is a moving target.  It changes with the seasons, it changes during elections and now it’s fluctuating because the price of oil has all but dropped off the map.

Pictures of gas station signage have been popping up online, taken by Edmontonians who wonder if, given the circumstances, it’s okay to actually be excited about paying less at the pump?

A good-sized pick-up truck, which Albertans love to drive, has a 130-litre tank. With some prices spotted at 56.9 cents a litre (compared with 61.9 in Calgary allegedly) a full tank could be as cheap as $74.00 (rounding up) compared with nearly $160.00 when regular gas was at its peak in the summer of 2014 in Alberta.

According to Statistics Canada, the last time gas at the pump dipped below even 60 cents was 17 years ago in 1999.

Prices in Vancouver have dropped but are still more than $1 a litre.  Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes where gas prices have always been notoriously more expensive than in the west, are seeing prices in the high 80s, low 90 cents a litre range.

Edmonton apparently has the cheapest gas in Canada.  Cheaper even than in Calgary and petroleum analysists in the City of Edmonton say there are a few reasons why that is.

Edmonton Refineries

There are three refineries in the city, mostly on the east side of the city and in Sherwood Park in an area known as Refinery Row. The Strathcona Refinery alone has a capacity of 187,000 barrels of crude oil a day. It’s the close proximity to these that’s helping Edmonton drivers save a few pennies more on wholesale gas prices.

Competition

Some of Edmonton’s big-box retailers also have gas pumps. That includes major grocery store chains, in addition to regular gas stations and small independents. This has created heated competition and deep discounts as everyone tries to attract customers. Some of the major chains have pumps almost on the “side” and gas is a loss leader.  They’ll drop prices to an extreme just to get people to drive up, come in and possible buy other things while they’re there.

Analyists further believe that gas prices will remain low or even fall a bit more between now and Easter. Prices should stabilize at that point.

Factors that could change the price of gas

If new production numbers change, either from U.S. markets or from other oil producing countries, there could be a shift in the amount of oil being produced.  That will most definitely impact the price.

Reaction to the current super-low gas prices is mixed in Edmonton. Some hope the price of oil will start rising so that Albertans can get back to work.

The price of oil is at or just below $30 U.S. a barrel and Alberta’s current unemployment rates is around 7.4%.

There are many websites dedicated to tracking the price of gas in major Canadian centres and alerting consumers to locations offering the cheapest gas in town.