Why The New Jersey Gas Price Surge And When Will It Stop?

Gas prices are up approximately 19 cents in Bergen and Passaic counties from last week, and Hurricane Harvey is to blame for that, experts say.

Mohammad Baksh is a gas attendant at the BP station in Bergenfield.
Photo Credit: *Cecilia Levine*

Cecilia Levine

09/01/2017 2:41 p.m.

The storm impacted refineries in Texas and Louisiana causing a mass disruption to gas supplies, analysts said.

The Colonial Pipeline, which carries gas and jet fuel from Houston to New York, was shut down on Wednesday. The company estimates full service from Houston will resume Sunday, following an evaluation of infrastructure and successful execution of its start up plan.

Chief Oil Analyst for the Oil Price Information Service Tom Kloza said the country can expect higher prices, but not necessarily shortages, with a worse-case-scenario national average of $2.75 per gallon.

"Restarting a refinery is not like restarting a car," he said. "It's more like restarting a lawn mower that has been sitting in a shed for a number of years.

"There's a lot of things that could be wrong."

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