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Frequently Asked Questions – Gasoline
Questions About Gasoline...
What's up, and down, with gasoline prices lately?
Why don’t fuel prices change as quickly as crude oil prices?
Can I tell which country the gasoline at my local station comes from?
What do I pay for in a gallon of regular gasoline?
How much gasoline does the United States consume per year?
How much tax do we pay on a gallon of gasoline?
Where can I find inflation-adjusted gasoline prices?
How many gallons of gasoline does one barrel of oil make?
How many retail gasoline stations are there in the U.S.?
When was the last refinery built in the United States?
 
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 Learn More About Gasoline!

Visit our Petroleum Basics 101 page to learn about gasoline and other petroleum-based fuels.

Textbook titled Petroleum Basics 101
 
 
Question: What's up, and down, with gasoline prices lately?

After the dramatic spike and then drop in gasoline prices in 2008, retail gasoline prices bottomed out in late December, and have been generally increasing since then.

EIA analysis of the petroleum market points to the following as main contributors to the increases in retail gasoline prices since the start of 2009:

  • The cost of crude oil to refiners — Spot prices for crude oil bottomed out at the end of December 2008 at around $30 per barrel, and then increased to, and have fluctuated around, $40 per barrel since then.

  • The balance between gasoline supply and demand — Gasoline production and inventories have tightened relative to demand, putting additional upward pressure on prices as refiners seek to improve their margins on gasoline.

This Week In Petroleum often discusses gasoline prices.

For EIA's latest gasoline price forecast, see EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook
Last updated: March 3, 2009
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Question: Can I tell which country the gasoline at my local station comes from?

The Energy Information Administration does not collect data on the source of gasoline sold at retail outlets. Several factors make it difficult to say where gasoline at a local station originated:
At a local station, a company may sell gasoline that was not produced by its own refineries.
Gasoline from different refineries, owned by different companies, is often combined for shipment by pipeline.  Many companies may purchase gasoline at the same bulk terminal.
The source of the crude oil used at a company's refinery varies daily. Most refiners use a mix of crude oils from domestic and foreign sources based on the oils’ cost and availability.
Learn More: EIA’s Primer on Gasoline Sources and Markets
Last reviewed: April 17, 2008
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Question: What do I pay for in a gallon of regular gasoline?

The national average retail price of a gallon of regular gasoline in December 2008 was $1.69. There are four main components that make up the retail price of a gallon of gasoline:

  1. Crude Oil:  The cost of crude oil as a share of the retail price varies over time and among regions of the country. In December 2008, refiners paid an average of about $39 per barrel of crude oil, which accounted for about 59% of the national average retail price of a gallon of regular grade gasoline.
  2. Taxes:  Federal, State, and local government taxes (not including county and local taxes) accounted for about 24% of the national average retail price of regular gasoline in December 2008. Federal excise taxes were 18.4 cents per gallon and State excise taxes averaged 21.5 cents per gallon.
  3. Distribution & Marketing:  Distribution, marketing, and retail dealer costs and profits were the next largest part of the retail price of gasoline in December 2008, accounting for 19% of the retail price of regular gasoline.
  4. Refining:  Refining costs and profits made up the remaining portion of the retail price of gasoline in December 2008, accounting for roughly 1% of the retail price of regular gasoline.

See the Gasoline and Diesel Fuels Update for:

The Primer on Gasoline Prices explains what drives gasoline prices.
Last updated: February 6, 2009
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Question: How much gasoline does the United States consume per year?

In 2007, the United States consumed over 142 billion gallons of gasoline.
Learn More: Annual petroleum consumption data
Last reviewed: June 12, 2008
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Question: How much tax do we pay on a gallon of gasoline?

The Federal gasoline tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and the average State tax is 21.59 cents per gallon.
State-by-State gasoline taxes
Last reviewed: January 26, 2009
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Question: Where can I find inflation-adjusted gasoline prices?

EIA graphs and spreadsheets showing inflation-adjusted gasoline prices are at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/fsheets/real_prices.html

Last reviewed: June 25, 2008
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Question: How many gallons of gasoline does one barrel of oil make?

One barrel (42 gallons) of crude oil, when refined, yields approximately 19.6 gallons of finished motor gasoline. The remainder of the barrel yields distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, jet fuel, and other products.

Products made from oil
Last reviewed: April 17, 2008
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Question: How many retail gasoline stations are there in the U.S.?

There are almost 162,000 retail gasoline outlets in the United States.

Statistics on U.S. gas stations from NPN MarketFacts 2008

Last updated: September 24, 2008
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