Record-setting gas prices hit Cape Region

Rehoboth Beach resident Harrison Desimone is looking forward to his upcoming cross-country trip, but not to the higher gas prices he will have to pay.

“It’ll probably cost me as much as a plane ticket, but I’m bringing my dog, so I have to drive,” he said while filling up his minivan at the Wawa near Route 24.

At $4.25 a gallon for lower-grade fuel, the gas station had comparable prices March 8 to the Royal Farms across the street and other Cape Region pump stations. An Exxon sign down the road showed $4.29.

“Right now I have a 22-gallon tank, and I have to pay $90 to fill it,” Desimone said.

Lewes resident Brendan Kane spent $94 to fill up his pickup truck. “That’s a pain,” he said. The last time he filled his tank, he said, it was about $55.

Harbeson-area retiree Jim Rogers said the increases haven’t hurt his bottom line yet, but he expects higher gas prices will have a trickle-down effect on prices of goods, which could put the economy into another recession.

He spent $57 for half a tank of gas and expects to shell out more than $100 the next time he has to fill up an empty tank.

“Ten years ago, it would've really affected me when I was working and trying to save money,” Rogers said. “I can weather the storm for now, but I feel bad for everyone else.”

Delaware gas prices have already exceeded the national average record of $4.17 a gallon, and experts predict they are going to continue rising as the war in Ukraine plays out and oil markets are disrupted. 

“It doesn’t look like there is any relief in sight,” said Jana Tidwell, public/government affairs manager for Pennsylvania and Delaware AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Demand had already pushed prices higher as more people hit the roads following eased pandemic restrictions, she said, but on March 7, Delaware’s average gas price hit a record of $4.22 a gallon, increasing 11 cents in one night. Over the past week, Tidwell said, the average gas price has spiked by 62 cents a gallon. The previous high was $4.06/gallon, set in June 2008.

“AAA anticipates that gas prices will remain at record-high levels for the short term, at least through spring,” Tidwell said. 

Moving into the summer driving season, she said, gas prices historically rise because of an EPA mandate that requires fuel companies offer a summer blend of gasoline.

“When that switchover happens toward the end of April, summer-blended gasoline is more expensive to produce, so that will add about 15 cents per gallon to the price of gas,” Tidwell said.

With nearly double-digit gas price hikes every day, she said, $5 per gallon gas may not be far away.

“We’re seeing $5 on the West Coast, and there’s no telling how high this can go,” Tidwell said. “If that trend continues, we will likely hit the $5 per gallon mark.”

Experts say sanctions against Russian oil will also push prices higher.

President Joe Biden announced March 8 that the U.S. would end oil imports from Russia. Published reports say the U.S. is reaching out to other autocratic, Russian-friendly countries such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to make up the 8% decrease from the oil imports that Russia had provided. 

Republicans have criticized Biden for not tapping into domestic oil reserves that could help lower gas prices, and Biden addressed that criticism by saying, “It’s simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production.” 

Biden said oil companies pumped more oil during his first year than in Trump’s first year. “We’re approaching record levels of oil and gas production, and we’re on track to set a record of oil production next year,” he said.

Oil companies have 9,000 permits that allow them to drill on millions of acres of federal land, Biden said, but they are not using those permits. 

Standing by his green energy plan, Biden said weaning the U.S. off fossil fuels and moving on to clean energy will benefit the U.S. in the long run. 

“If we do what we can, it will mean no one has to worry about the price at the gas pump in the future,” he said.