According to a press release from Montrae Waiters, the spokeswoman from AAA – The Auto Club Group, tropical storm Laura may damage Gulf oil capacity and drive Georgia gasoline prices upward.

Laura is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico and become a hurricane by tomorrow.

The press release stated:

According to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, approximately 58 percent, or 1.065 million barrels a day, of crude production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shuttered ahead of the storms and 114 (18%) platforms evacuated.

While gasoline stocks remain at a healthy level, if platforms and rigs are offline for an extended amount of time, supply could tighten and gas prices could be impacted. AAA will continue to monitor activity and provide related gas price updates.

Georgia gasoline prices over the past week

 Georgia gasoline prices  on average increased slightly compared to a week ago. Georgia drivers are now paying an average price of $1.99 per gallon for regular unleaded. Today’s state average is “1 cent more than a week ago, 1 cent less than last month, and 43 cents less than this time last year,” according to AAA.

“Gasoline stocks hit their lowest level since the pandemic began and demand dipped on the week, down to 8.6 million barrels a day,” said Waiters. “These decreases typically lead to cheaper pump prices, but this summer we’ve seen atypical gas price trends.”

Cobb County gasoline prices

The average price in Cobb County is $1.955 as of the publication of this article, about three cents less than the statewide average. 

It is always possible to find lower gas prices than the average by comparison shopping or using tools like http://gasbuddy.com.

How does AAA determine gas prices?

AAA explains it’s methodology for collecting data on gasoline prices at the pump as follows:

AAA updates fuel price averages daily at www.GasPrices.AAA.com. Every day up to 130,000 stations are surveyed based on credit card swipes and direct feeds in cooperation with the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and Wright Express for unmatched statistical reliability. All average retail prices in this report are for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline.