Gas prices surge in Bay Area as Trump administration orders restart of offshore drilling

By Da Lin

Gas prices across the Bay Area have surged over the past two weeks as the war in Iran drives up global oil costs, putting additional pressure on drivers already paying some of the highest prices in the nation.

According to AAA, the average price for regular unleaded gasoline in San Francisco was $5.66 a gallon as of Saturday. Prices were slightly higher in San Rafael and Marin County at $5.67, while San Jose averaged $5.49 and Oakland $5.53.  The AAA numbers showed Bay Area drivers were paying roughly $.80 more a gallon for gas since the war began.

At a Shell gas station on Bryant Street in San Francisco, prices started at $6.60 a gallon — among the highest in the region.

Drivers filling up there said they had little choice but to pay.

“I think that’s the highest that I’ve seen in a while,” said Cruz Flores, who stopped for what he described as an emergency fill-up on his way to work.

Flores said the rising cost of fuel is straining his budget.

“If I knew that I was getting gas for this much, I probably would have taken BART today,” he said.

Others said they would keep driving — at least for now.

“At $10 [a gallon], I won’t be driving,” said San Francisco driver David Peterson.

The spike in prices comes as the Trump administration on Friday used executive authority to order the restart of offshore oil 
drilling along the California coast. The controversial directive would bypass state regulators after drilling plans were delayed by lawsuits and opposition from state lawmakers.

The order directs Sable Offshore Corporation to restore oil drilling operations off the Santa Barbara coast. Supporters of the move said expanding domestic oil production could eventually help ease prices at the pump.

But some energy experts said the impact on gasoline prices would be minimal in the near future.

“It’s not going to have any effect on the price of oil anytime in the near future, because these things are going to be held up in court, there are going to be lots of lawsuits,” said Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Borenstein said even if the oil eventually reaches the market, the global nature of the oil trade limits its effect on prices.

“What it does do is increase the profits of oil companies and increase employment in the oil sector. So, this would create jobs,” he said.

Environmental groups are also warning that restarting offshore drilling could pose significant risks to California’s coastline. Critics point to a 2015 oil spill that led to the shutdown of the offshore platforms now slated for restart.

“If this project is allowed to restart off of California, it will be the biggest threat to the California coast in terms of risk of oil spills but also in terms of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Linda Krop back in January.  Krop is the chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center.

Meanwhile, drivers like Flores said they are already adjusting their habits to cope with rising fuel costs.

“I hope us as people are not getting comfortable with this,” he said.

Energy experts said relief at the pump may depend more on global events than domestic drilling. They said the sooner the war in Iran ends, the sooner gasoline prices could begin to fall — but if the conflict drags on, high prices may persist.