Don’t blame gas stations

Photo by Greg Derr

The price at the pump may be increasing rapidly, but your local corner store isn’t rolling in windfall profits.

The price at the pump may be increasing rapidly, but your local corner store isn’t rolling in windfall profits.

According to Leo Vercollone, president of VERC Enterprises, individual gas stations in Massachusetts make an average of $.10 to $.12 per gallon of gas sold, said Leo Vercollone, president of VERC Enterprises, whose businesses include gas stations, car washes and automobile rentals.

Vercollone said many gas stations now make the bulk of their money through retail sales at the attached convenience stores, which decrease when high gas prices cut into disposable income.

“The pundits say gas could be steady in the three-dollar range and higher,” Vercollone said. “That’s not good for anybody.”

Know your suppliers

A full 73 percent of the crude oil imported by the United States in 2007 came from only five countries, according to data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and only one of them is in the Middle East.

Bill Keyes of Milton stands between his wife's 2007 Nissan Sentra and his Chevy S-10 pickup. He is taking his wifes car to drive more often in an effort to save money on gas. Photo by Greg Derr

Canada topped the list of U.S. suppliers, exporting some 1.8 million barrels (1 barrel = 42 gallons) of crude oil to the U.S. per day in 2007. Saudi Arabia came in a close second, supplying more than 1.45 million barrels of oil per day. Topping out the five largest suppliers are Venezuela, Mexico and Nigeria, in that order.

U.S. an importer-exporter

The United States imported 12.4 million barrels of oil per day in 2006, according to the Energy Information Administration, that’s approximately 4.5 billion barrels for the year. In contrast, the U.S. exported a mere 9 million barrels for the entire year in 2006, that’s less than we imported in one day.

This month in gas history

Closing out March, the average cost of a gallon of retail gasoline in Massachusetts is $3.10, according to the Energy Information Agency. This time last year you would have spent on average $2.55 per gallon of regular gas. This time four years ago (as far back as the agency keeps monthly gas price data for Massachusetts) you were spending $1.73 per gallon of regular gas.

This month in crude history

The price of crude oil in the United States rounding out the month of March this year is around $99.67 per barrel. This time last year a barrel of crude oil cost $54.02. This time five years ago, a barrel of crude oil cost $23.45. This time 10 years ago (now might be a good time to pop an antacid) a barrel of crude oil would have cost you $12.40 per barrel.