Dec 2, 2014 3 min read

While an abundance of natural gas supplies has flowed from this region to the rest of the world, lower gasoline prices have trickled down to consumers locally.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided on Thanksgiving not to reduce oil production, leading supply to outstrip demand and lowering prices. Superior Petroleum Co. Manager of Petroleum and Transportation Don Bowers partially attributed the increased supply to hydraulic fracturing locally.

He said the country’s goal of reducing dependence on crude oil has been accomplished.

“We’ve done that,” he said.

Travis Windle of the Marcellus Shale Coalition said in an email that America shifted from a position of scarcity and weakness to one of global power because of shale development and technological advancements.

“While external global market forces, as well as policy decisions, such as new taxes, affect both commodity prices and investment decisions, America has secured its position in the world as the leading oil- and natural gas-producing nation, thanks in large part to the progress we’re making in Pennsylvania,” Windle wrote.

For that reason, the increasing oil supply will not affect the United States until it hurts other countries first, Bowers said.

“It’s going to hurt Russia and Venezuela before it’s going to hurt the United States,” he said.

But the long-term consequences will either be the collapse of crude oil production or reducing production. That will depend on how long the countries countinue producing more than is needed.

“I think what Saudi Arabia is trying to do is show they can flex their muscles,” he said, adding the decision did not surprise anyone.

He said Venezuelan representatives were so upset that they left the meeting. It would be best for them if oil prices increased to $200 a barrel, he said.

Bowers compared the situation to an overabundance of oil production in the 1980s when oil cost about $10 a barrel.

“Wells closed up, a lot of people went out of business, and OPEC just went along their merry way and kept producing,” he said.

But because of America’s reduced dependence on crude oil, the local impact of OPEC’s decision will be cheaper gasoline prices and more money flowing into the economy – for now.

Average gasoline prices Tuesday were $2.95 in Washington County and $3.02 in Greene County, according to Gas Buddy’s media site.

Bowers said he expects the price of gasoline to continue to decline, but that he would need a crystal ball to determine how low it will drop and for how long.

“Right now, they’re down,” he said, adding that prices will continue dropping in the near term. “Nobody knows what’s going to happen. Any little burp in the system can change what way the market heads.”