OPEC pumps up oil prices, draining wallets

Students returning from Spring Break may need to empty their wallets to refill their gas tanks because the price of a gallon of gasoline has risen locally in the past few months from $1.25 to more than $1.70.

The price of oil has been rising steadily for the past six months and is expected to continue to climb this summer. The higher fuel costs are the result of a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries late last year to reduce production and increase oil prices. OPEC's move has increased the price of a barrel of crude oil from $10 to more than $30 during the last year.

Like many other institutions, the University is already being affected by the increase in fuel costs, according to Director of Engineering Thomas Nyquist.

Cogeneration plant

The largest of the University's oil outlays are in the form of gasoline and oil for the cogeneration plant, which provides the University with supplemental electricity to lessen the drain on the community's resources.

"The University's cogeneration plant is a gas facility," Nyquist said. "We primarily use natural gas, but we can use [oil products] as well. When there is a period of heavy usage, like a cold winter, the large commercial customers are asked to cut back on use. In response, we begin burning fuel to compensate."

The University also maintains a fleet of vehicles including Public Safety cruisers and maintenance trucks. Gasoline purchases are made by the University in bulk at discount prices and are stored in an approximately 10,000-gallon tank, according to Nyquist.

Departments purchase the gasoline as needed from the University's supply using a magnetic card system and gasoline pumps located at the cogeneration plant. This allows the University to distribute costs to the departments that use the gasoline.

Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser said the increased costs will definitely have an impact on the budget of Public Safety and other gasoline-dependent departments. Though the exact figures have not yet been determined, the increased cost of oil is expected to affect the University's overall budget as well.

The rise in fuel prices has become a highly contested political issue as both Republicans and Democrats have tried to decrease the costs of gasoline and heating oil. Congress currently is considering repealing the 4.3-cent-per-gallon federal tax on gasoline, opening U.S. strategic gasoline reserves and pressuring OPEC to increase oil production.

Until plans for government intervention are implemented, however, the high price of oil is not expected to decrease.