LAFAYETTE PARISH — Fuel costs jumped considerably as of Monday following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, and local gas station owners and industry experts say the worst may not be over.
KATC headed out to Riché's Y-Not Stop to get a firsthand look at the local impact.
Logan Riché, the owner of Riché's Y-Not Stop, said the price increase was atypical.
"So the gas prices went up, spiked 20 cents suddenly, and it's a shock because usually it's a very gradual, slow rise. Usually, but today it wasn't. It's spiked," he said.
Riché said a typical price jump comes in around 3 to 5 cents per gallon.
KATC also spoke with Mike Moncla with the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association about what this could mean in the long term, and whether the conflict could undermine this administration's push to bring oil prices down.
"Now, this escalation in war may get it back up into the threes. We'll see what happens, but it has been as low as, you know, $57 oil and $2.19 gasoline. So, it's certainly— we have seen a jump in the last few weeks as this has escalated," he said.
Moncla added that how hard this hits consumers' wallets will depend on the intensity of the conflict and how long it lasts.
He said he is keeping his eye on the Strait of Hormuz — the only seaway for Persian Gulf oil exporters. Roughly 20% of the world's oil passes through its worldwide shipping lane.
Should something happen to destabilize the flow of operations, Moncla warned, the world could face an energy crisis on a global scale.
"If they close the Strait of Hormuz, there are some different things that could happen that would really choke the supply. And if that were to happen, then the demand goes up when the supply is going to be choked off, so the prices could go up from there," he added.
