Average gas prices have fallen to an average of $3.39 a gallon after the BP Whiting Refinery and other refineries stopped making the more expensive summer blend gasoline.
Retail gas prices fell 7.1 cents per gallon last week, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 314 area gas stations. The national average dropped 3.4 cents to $3.34 per gallon, and falling global oil prices, which are hovering around their lowest level in the last two years, could cause retail gas prices to drop under $3 a gallon in as many as 30 states.
Gas prices in Northwest Indiana had averaged around $3.58 a gallon in the second week of September, before the seasonal environmental regulation was lifted.
"As expected, fuel prices nationwide continue to decline following the expiration last week of the EPA's 'summer blend' gasoline requirement," said GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Gregg Laskoski. "That's good news for consumers. We know that when gas prices rise in springtime it removes billions from the U.S. economy. Logic dictates that the reverse is true, too, and that as prices fall, it puts a little money back in consumers' pockets."
The Environmental Protection Agency requires gasoline to be refined more to release fewer emissions during the summer, when more vehicles are on the road.
During the summer months, gas must have a lower vapor pressure, so it evaporates more easily and does not create as much smog and ozone. Refineries switch over to the summer blend in March or April, cutting back on the cheap additive butane.
The requirement ended earlier this month, which GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said ushers in a season of cheap gas. Historically, gas prices fall even further in October.
"Over the next month or two it is likely the national average will fall another 10 to 20 cents per gallon to some of the lowest prices of 2014," DeHaan said. "Additionally, some states in the south will see their average prices drop under $3 a gallon – perhaps even in time for Halloween."
Prices in the Gary metro area were 9.7 cents per gallon cheaper Sunday than they were a year ago, and 10.4 cents lower a gallon than a month ago. The national average has fallen 15 cents per gallon over the last year.