FOX31 Denver

When will gas prices rise after the Suncor refinery shutdown?

Denver (KDVR) — It has been several days since the Suncor refinery in Commerce City was shut down after two employees were injured, and now petroleum experts say gas prices are about to rise.

Grier Bailey with the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association said he expects prices will start to increase sometime in the next seven to 10 days.

The Suncor refinery will be closed for months, and Bailey says it makes up 35 to 40% of the gasoline and diesel market here.

Bailey says other suppliers are trying to fill the gaps with existing stockpiled inventory.

“The majority of that comes in by pipeline and rail, but pipelines are only so big, and you can only push so much fuel through them,” he said.

The impact, he said, could be different for branded versus unbranded gas stations.

“If they are a Sinclair station, a ConocoPhillips station, Shell station, those will be slightly better off than some of our unbranded partners,” Bailey said.

 He added that it’s hard to know exactly when the prices will jump and by how much.

“It’s hard to speculate. It’s more based on what suppliers can do and how long they can help bridge that 40% of the fuel supply gap. We can’t expect that that’s a sustainable transition,” Bailey said. “I mean, essentially what you are doing is that those suppliers are taking fuels from other markets and helping us here in Colorado in the short term.”

Bailey said there is no reason to panic buy as Governor Jared Polis has offered some regulatory relief to keep the supply coming.