Even as crude oil prices continue to fall and as gas prices across the country hit their lowest levels in years, drivers in Illinois are seeing prices rise by as much as 50-cents. The reason, according to industry experts, is a mechanical problem at the BP Whiting Refinery that cut the daily capacity of four-hundred-13-thousand-barrels by more than half.
A state Senator from southwest Michigan is asking the state attorney general's office to look into the sharp jump in gas prices. Senator John Proos of St. Joseph, Michigan says he certainly understands supply and demand, but says if the supply of gasoline is so tight that the shutdown of the Midwest's largest oil refinery can trigger such a dramatic price spike, people deserve answers.
BP isn't saying how long the affected unit will be offline, but price jumps of 50-cents happened in the Chicago area earlier in the week, and now have happened in Rochelle and other surrounding communities. The price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas at some stations in Rochelle is now $2.99 a gallon.