Mississippi”s gas prices are among the lowest in the nation, but Columbus” gas prices consistently remain among the highest in the state and local oil company executives seem reluctant to explain why.
“I don”t know that they”re higher in the area,” Fred Newman Jr., president of Newman Oil Company, angrily said Tuesday, when asked what factors determine pricing at the BP distributor”s stations. “How can I pay my bills if I don”t make money? Do you want to explain that to me?
“Don”t the Imes own the paper?” he continued, referring to Dispatch Publisher and General Manager Birney Imes. “Let me just sell you this place and then you can worry about it. I”m angry because I work my ass off and I have to pay my bills.”
Despite repeated attempts, neither Lee Sanders of Sanders Oil Company, which distributes Chevron and Citgo gasoline, nor Joe Gillis of Dutch Oil Company could be reached for comment for this story.
Industry experts say high prices of gasoline are the result of several factors, including customers” willingness to pay them, the cost to produce and deliver gasoline, including the cost of crude oil to refiners, refinery-producing costs, marketing and distribution costs and the retail station costs and taxes.
According to the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association, the prices paid by consumers also reflect profits or losses of retailers, marketers, distributors and retail station owners.
And federal, state and local taxes are large components of the retail price of gasoline.
Additionally, competition controls prices, said MPMCSA Executive Director Jerry Wilkerson.
“A lot of the time, (prices) are due to competition,” agreed Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst of GasBuddy, a Web site that tracks daily fuel prices all over the country. “The number of stations results in better competition. And areas with wholesale clubs tend to be lower in price, simply because the wholesale clubs pull everybody lower.”
“People want to say, ”Why does gas go up?”” Newman said. “Every day the price goes up. Crude oil is up 70 cents a barrel. I can”t entirely explain it, because I”m not an expert. Gasoline is a day commodity and it”s traded globally every day. Money flows in and out of that hedge fund to buy it. As far as surrounding areas, we”ve got some areas that have Wal-Marts. There are other areas in this state that are suffering.
“I don”t know you can tie it to any one reason,” he added. “But you price it to whatever you can price it in the marketplace, which is usually not enough. I”m barely surviving now, worried about how I can pay for it. I”ll let you talk to my accountant, if you think I”m making too much money. Try buying 8,800 gallons a day and then paying the (associated) taxes on it.”
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