AKsilvereagle
North Pole, Alaska
Senior Member
Joined: 04/17/2010
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Quote:Might check the futures market or get a crystal ball for fuel prices next year.
This is what best describes how to budget for fuel costs for a following year...You never know what will happen in the futures market with other factors involved for example other applicable taxes or fees added or increased by levels of government, not to mention production costs changing up for the refineries.
When I check current fuel prices within the United States, I find this one to be accurate and informative which is up to date within a day or two - many stations report and participate and have local maps showing locations and such, as they now added typing a feature for city and state location or zip code (which they only featured typing a zip code in the past) :
MSN Autos
Quote:Gas prices in Alaska seem to be regionalized, and are mostly driven by the distance from the distribution network. The main fuel refinery is in North Pole, and they tanker train much of the fuel to Anchorage.
Anchorage and Fairbanks fuel prices are usually the lowest in the state. For what it's worth, right now they are in the $3.90-$4.00 range.
Mat-Su Valley (Wasilla, Palmer, Talkeetna) prices are typically 5-10 cents above Anchorage prices.
Richardson Highway (Delta Jct, Glenallen, Valdez) prices are usually around 50 cents higher than Anchorage, as are gas prices around Denali National Park.
Prices up the Dalton Highway (Coldfoot and Deadhorse) are usually around 75 cents above Fairbanks prices.
If you venture further out, prices off the road network are usually dependent on the wholesale price paid when the fuel barge delivered. For example, I was in Nome on business last month, and their fuel price was $5/gallon, where it had been for almost a year.
Regional areas and distribution suppliers have always been bonkers in their pricing and it changes significantly and more frequent versus the past....I do not know the current routes of today or the changes, however I will point out how fuel prices in Alaska reflected from 15 years ago as what the bulk plant manager quoted me on who distributes to where and the refinery that supplies them...
(Former Mapco and Williams) North Pole Refinery supplied :
All Interior Alaska Stations and Parks Highway Stations thru Healy
All Richardson Highway Route Stations thru Valdez
All Dalton Highway Stations
All Taylor Highway Stations
Tesoro Kenai Refinery supplied :
All Kenai Peninsula Stations
All Anchorage Municipality Stations
All Mat-Su Regional Stations
All Parks Highway Stations thru Cantwell
All Glenn Highway Stations
All Alaska Highway Stations from Dot Lake to the Canada Border
When the now Holiday Stations were the former Mapco and Williams Stations partially owned by the North Pole Refinery under both names, you were pumping fuel supplied from either refinery at the time, depending what location you were at....
If you were in the Anchorage Area and purchasing gas from a Mapco Station, you were getting Tesoro refined fuel, not Mapco's refined fuel.
If you were in Fairbanks and purchasing gas from a Tesoro Station, you were getting North Pole Mapco refined fuel, not Tesoro's refined fuel.
Commuters wondered why Gakona Junction Station was a lot lower for the price of fuel 12 miles away from Glennallen, and roughly the same price in Valdez which was much lower than Glennallen at that time, and that was because North Pole Refinery supplied Gakona Jct. and Valdez while Tesoro Refinery supplied Glennallen and charged a higher delivery price.
Commuters also wondered why Cantwell fuel prices were real high versus Healy prices farther north 38 miles away that were much cheaper...
That is because two different refineries supplied the fuel at each location they were contracted to supply for.
I also heard that Southeast Alaska Stations were supplied by Washington State Refineries and barged to those locations in that region.
Alaska used to be one of the lowest fuel prices in all the US, and would climb to match typical market prices in other parts of the US once prices went up....Whenever prices went down in the past, Alaska prices were the last to adjust back to those lower prices on par.
Since the record high 2008 fuel prices, Alaska has benefitted well by the oil revenue for crude oil AND charging the refineries a 25 percent royalties tax for recieving crude oil to refine, which in turn made prices at the pump around $1.00 or so per US gallon more in Alaska versus many places in the United States, never used to be this way...even the fact that Alaska State Tax for every gallon of fuel is the lowest of all 50 states at only 8.5 cents (and only 4 cents per gallon state tax for aviation fuel), versus many states charging 18 cents to as high as 50 cents per gallon tax, and those high state tax per gallon states are still lower priced at the pump versus Alaska prices.
One thing worth mentioning about remote islands and villages in Alaska is that many people are leaving these places because they cannot afford $9.00-$12.00 per US Gallon for gasoline and heating fuel that they were being charged last winter, despite whatever energy assistance they were getting however it was still not enough for many living hard in the remote areas.
So as of the present time now you can make a budget plan to pay 25 percent higher for Alaska fuel and an overall 35 percent higher for fuel purchased in Canada....if you are worried about fuel prices in Canada, I would suggest topping off fuel as much as you can if you happen to pass thru Alberta where it is mainly the cheapest priced within Canada.
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