Will The Cushing Pipeline Increase Gas Prices For Oklahoma Drivers?

Analysts say the drive to four dollar gas in Oklahoma could be near. Pump prices may make you cringe right now, but we actually have some of the cheapest gas prices in the nation.

But a proposed pipeline from Cushing to Gulf Coast refineries could change that. Supporters of the pipeline say it will lower gas prices. But some analysts say Oklahoma drivers could actually pay as much as thirty cents more per gallon.

Think today's gas prices are high? Some analysts say pump prices could climb much higher for Oklahoma drivers with the completion of a pipeline from Cushing to the Gulf Coast.

"That's scary. I'm glad my car gets 40 miles to the gallon," remarked Tulsa driver Ron Copeland.

Crude oil here, called west Texas intermediate, is priced lower because of the huge oil jam in Cushing. The oversupply of oil stored in tanks has lowered its price throughout a great swath of the plains and Rocky Mountain states.

Refineries in this part of the country pay less as a result and you pay less at the pump. An energy researcher explained to MSNBC that the pipeline would break the logjam in Cushing, thus lowering Midwest supplies and raising the cost of both oil and products made from oil, like gasoline.

A business professor at UC-Berkley believes prices at the pump could be anywhere from 10 to 30 cents more per gallon for Oklahomans and the Midwest, reflecting the prices the rest of the country is paying.

"I don't know much about the pipeline and the effect it would have, but if it's going to raise my gas almost 30 cents a gallon, that's really scary," Copeland said.

TransCanada, the company behind the pipeline, claims building it will create hundreds of jobs and infuse a billion dollars into Oklahoma's economy.

02/27/2012 Related Story: Pipeline Announcement Has Many In Cushing Pumped

"No good, then. No good for us, Oklahoma. It will probably bring a lot of jobs to Oklahoma, but for most of us, it would just affect our pocketbooks," said Tulsa driver Kevin Weaver.

An energy analysis company in Colorado speculates Midwest oil prices will rebound in 2013 because of Cushing pipeline expansions. But, it expects prices to drop again in 2015, explaining the supply could once again outpace the pipelines.