Tiffany Crawford
The Province
Vancouver gas prices hit 150.9 cents a litre at some stations Wednesday, and according to a prominent petroleum analyst, it’s likely to go up.
GasBuddy.com analyst Dan McTeague says the price has jumped 20 cents over the last couple of weeks. And, while this isn’t the highest price Vancouverites have seen — it jumped to 156 cents a litre in July 2014 — it’s the highest in North America.
McTeague says there are several factors contributing to the skyrocketing costs, including the declining Canadian dollar, a shortage of supply to the Lower Mainland, and a reliance on U.S. refineries, which are charging a premium for gas.
He says the Parkland refinery in Burnaby, which produces about 30 per cent of Vancouver’s fuel, is shut down for maintenance.
“So all these things combine to increase prices,” he said, adding that Vancouverites pay 49.4 cents a litre in taxes, which are also the highest in North America.
He also said with spring maintenance coming up at most refineries, prices are likely going to remain high into April.
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