Will Middle East unrest cause gas prices to increase?

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — With all the recent upheaval in Syria, many are wondering if it could cause gas prices to increase.

However, an expert from Old Dominion University said we shouldn’t be as worried, even as Syria is in the midst of celebrating the ousting of its president, Bashar Al-Assad and Israel carrying out a wave of airstrikes across the region.

“This is the most shocking development in the Middle East since Hamas’ invasion of Gaza last year,” said Aaron Carp, ODU senior lecturer and professor of political science and geography.

While the world has its eyes on this developing conflict in the Middle East, Americans are bracing for any ripple effects — notably at the gas pump.

“You’d think that the price of oil went up and down depending on international news, and it does a little bit,” Carp said.

But, unless the news is really catastrophic, we won’t see that big a change, he said.

On top of that, he said “Syria is not a major oil exporter, so what we’re really talking about is perceptions internationally.”

It won’t affect us as much as the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, he said, since Iran is a major exporter of oil.

Nationally, the average price of gas is down two cents and Hampton Roads tends to be another five or six cents below the average.

Ryan Adcock with AAA has more good news.

“The winter blend gas is also cheaper to produce than the summer blend of gas because it does not have the … additive that causes it to not to evaporate during the summer that is not in the winter blend of gas,” Adcock said.

If there is a problem, Carp said it’s with oversupply.

The price of petroleum has gone down traumatically because too many countries are producing it to get the revenue, and, as a result, he said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, is trying to get its producers to reduce their exports to drive the price back up.

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