Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2001)
Gas prices continued from pagelA al’s office has issued 36 gas sta tions in Oregon with Civil Inves tigation Demands, which will re quire the stations to answer questions about why their prices rose so much after Sept. 11. Most of the stations, she said, have been in rural areas or small towns where drivers have few options as to where to buy gas. There was legitimate concern among oil companies, providers (called jobbers) and station owners as to what the gas supply situation would be immediately following the terrorist attacks, said Brent DeHart, spokesman for the Oregon Gasoline Dealers Association. For about two days following the attack, several stations either came close to running out of gas or did run out, he said. “Many dealers raised prices by about four cents a gallon so they wouldn’t completely run out,” De Hart said. “As soon as the stations were replenished, prices went back down.” The federal government did shut off a majority of the gas pipelines throughout the nation as a safety precaution, said Ore gon Petroleum Marketers Associ ation Spokesman Steve O’Toole. Once the lines opened again, he said, stations did not have to wor ry about their supply. O’Toole also said that prices had been going up in the gas market for at least two weeks before the at tacks, so much of the price increas es were not due to stations panick ing over the event. People also began to panic about the possibility of the gas supply run ning out if, in response to the terror ist actions, the United States at tacked the Middle East, said AAA Spokesman Elliott Eki. “People were showing up at gas stations with 55 gallon drums and wanting to fill them with gas,” Eki said. Gas prices are now back to nor mal, if not lower than what they were before the crisis, Eki said, with Oregon’s average price at $1.77 a gallon. “The stations and providers had to deal with the demand issue be fore they could lower their prices again,’’ Eki said. “But now, the price for crude oil is the lowest it’s been in the past two years, and with the re duction in airline flights, more oil is available for gasoline.” So those who have their prices above $2 a gallon for unleaded reg ular gas at this time are charging too much, O’Toole said. Brian Doherty, the retained advo cate for the Western States Petrole um Association, said few of the sta tions are owned by the actual company whose name appears on their sign. Most companies, such as Chevron, Texaco and Shell, are sup pliers to individual stations and de liver their oil through independent providers. He said the stations who are speculating the prices are not necessarily reflecting the wholesale price of the oil. Spokesmen for the OPMA, OGDA and the WSPA all said they have begun and will continue to work with the Attorney General’s office to stop price speculation in the gasoline market. Lindsay Buchele is the community editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be reached atlindsaybuchele@dailyemerald.com. I 2rf_ HEIL 8UH0is~ James Brown Jimmy Buffett Joan Baez Eric Clapton Robert Cray Half Diamond Etta James Elton John Lyle Lovett Pat Metheny Moody Blues Van Morrison Parliament Tom Petty Police Primus REM Steely Dan Cat Stevens Traffic U2 Tom Waits Muddy Waters The Who AND MANY MORE Two locally ow ned and / amazingly stocked stores! 1C& Offer good while supplies last. Not valid with other discounts or offers, Visit our on-line Store W c Jva ebw (trldct *m 1 1 T 541 68 EUGENE -AND 955 N.W. KIN 541 752-9632 CORVALLIS
