Pump Up The Gas

Gas prices over the years have been pretty bad, with them being at their worst in recent years. There are so many factors to consider when it comes to the gas pieces. 

So instead of beating around the bush lets get right into it. 

A good place to start would be the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The whole world had completely shut down, meaning that there weren’t as many vehicles and planes going at the same time, so many oil companies had to cut their production of oil because the demand was no longer there.

But when the country reopened, there was an instant surge in all activity, so the oil production companies didn’t have the necessary time to keep up, leading to there being less gasoline, making the prices way more expensive than they were before COVID. 

So in short, these companies did not have enough reserves, and every piece of oil that was being put into the economy was fresh out of the factories. But with some time, the gas prices would slowly go down to a more reasonable price. 

Also around this time was the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The reason behind the fighting can get a bit jumbled, but as a reporter, I will do my best to explain it in the simplest way possible so everyone can understand. 

This conflict didn’t just start overnight. The start of the tension leads all the way back to 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

That event led to the independence of Ukraine. As time went on, instead of Ukraine strengthening its ties with Russia, they sought partnerships out west and built a lot of strong ties with Western countries and organizations like NATO and the European Union. Russia didn’t take kindly to the thought of a military alliance creeping closer to their front door and was willing to do anything to prevent it from happening. Russia also still saw Ukraine as one of its own territories and wanted to claim the land back for itself. 

In 2014, there was a major turning point in the two relationships of the country. Ukraine had a revolution within its country, which led to the removal of pro Russia president Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych. Because of that event, Russia rebelled by annexing Crimea (a region within Ukraine). The eastern region of Ukraine, named Donbas, is where fighting between Ukrainian and pro Russia separatists took place. 

Unfortunately, this fighting never ended, and once Russia had enough, they decided to invade Ukraine, which led to the world coming together and many countries putting sanctions on Russia.

Since Russia is a major oil producer, gas prices went up because of it. Since they stopped producing as much oil, there was a stronger demand for oil, so prices went up.

Now, let’s go with the most recent event that has led to oil prices spiking to numbers so high it’s insane.

The majority of the world’s oil comes from the Middle East, and attacking Iran has cost us a good portion of it. With the fighting going on, the shipments are less frequent, causing the market to slow down as well.

So to put it in simpler terms, the slower the shipments, the less and the fewer shipments, and with the same demand, the prices will go up.

We have also attacked some oil fields and gas plants, and that has lessened the amount of oil that gets brought out, and on top of that, we have even attacked some of their export facilities. With those things and possibly more, with the risk of them shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, which is the trade route of a huge portion of the global oil shipment, prices go up.

The next time you are wondering why gas costs so much, remember there can be several reasons why.