Indiana refinery woes lead to local gasoline price hikes

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – AAA Oklahoma says technical problems at a refinery in the Midwest are forcing gasoline prices to rise in Oklahoma.

AAA says the average price for self-serve regular gas in the state jumped nearly 19 cents over the past week to Tuesday’s average of $2.57 per gallon.

AAA spokesman Chuck Mai says the price spike is due to a BP refinery going down unexpectedly in Whiting, Indiana. Mai says Oklahoma motorists are feeling the impact because fuel is being purchased from surrounding areas to supplement the demand in the Great Lakes region that the refinery serves, tightening local supplies and boosting retail prices.

Initial reports indicate it may take BP a month or longer to repair the troubled crude distillation unit. The refinery can produce 430,000 barrels of gasoline per day.