(The Center Square) – Gasoline prices are soaring in Louisiana, rising 19.3 cents a gallon over the last week to an average of $3.92 on Tuesday, as geopolitical tensions and Gulf Coast refinery maintenance squeeze fuel supplies across the state from Lake Charles and Baton Rouge to Monroe.
While Louisiana prices rose 5.2% over the last seven days, the national average saw an even sharper increase—rising 30.7 cents, or 7.3%, to $4.48 per gallon, with both hitting new four-year highs, according to AAA data.
Despite a slower rate of increase than the rest of the country, the price spike in Louisiana in the last week represents a significant financial blow to the state’s motorists. In Hammond, the price of regular gasoline jumped 24.1 cents this week to $3.92. Drivers in Monroe saw a 24.6-cent increase to $3.86, while those in Alexandria paid an average of $3.97 on Tuesday—up 22.6 cents per gallon in seven days.
Beyond the geopolitical causes for the recent price increases, the beginning of refinery maintenance season and the mandatory transition to more expensive summer-blend gasoline have increased the strain on regional fuel supplies.
Traditionally, gasoline prices in the United States tend to peak between April and June, often hitting a seasonal high around Memorial Day. In 2025, the U.S. average gas price peaked in April at $3.23 a gallon.
“Typically, sporadic shutdowns of refineries begin in February as they transition to summer blends,” said AAA’s spokesman in Louisiana, Dan Redman. “The transition to summer-grade gasoline must be completed by June 1, and the refineries usually complete that transition by early May so they can meet the federal deadline, which is a requirement of the Clean Air Act,” he said.
Normally, the price of gasoline rises about 50 cents between January 1 and June 1, Redman said, as demand rises through the spring into the summer and refiners shift to production of more expensive summer-grade fuels.
In late February, Citgo began reconfiguring its Lake Charles refinery to optimize processing of heavy oil from Venezuela after operating at more than 100% of its capacity in the last months of 2025 to capture high profit margins. The Citgo Lake Charles refinery, the nation’s seventh largest with processing capacity of about 463,000 barrels of crude oil per day, is expected to resume operations in June.
Just across Louisiana’s border with Texas, ExxonMobil recently began scheduled maintenance at its Beaumont refinery, the third largest in the United States with crude processing capacity of 630,000 barrels per day, further tightening regional fuel supplies. The Beaumont refinery is expected to resume fuels production later in May.
“Consumers’ minds are fixed on when the price of gas will hit $4 a gallon,” said AAA’s Redman. There’s a lot of mental stress attached to the price of $4 a gallon—the reality is it affects the family budget,” he said.
Redman noted that the U.S. war with Iran remains the primary driver of higher gas price in Louisiana. “It was reported that one tanker got through the Strait of Hormuz today and oil prices dropped about 4%,” he said. During a war or geopolitical crisis, gas prices depend mostly on the news of the day, Redman added.
“Looking ahead, volatility is likely to remain elevated,” petroleum market analysts at GasBuddy wrote in a blog post Monday. With few signs that geopolitical tensions are easing in the Middle East, gasoline prices will continue to react swiftly to geopolitical developments, according to the GasBuddy analysts.
“As long as uncertainty surrounds supply – especially in critical regions and transit routes – oil prices are likely to remain supported, with sharp swings possible as markets navigate an increasingly fragile and headline-driven environment,” GasBuddy stated in the blog.
In addition to higher refining costs, Louisiana motorists are paying a total of 56.8 cents in taxes for every gallon pumped. This includes a state motor fuel tax of 38.4 cents a gallon—the sixth lowest in the nation—along with the federal excise tax of 18.4 cents per gallon.
While the United States is currently producing about 13.6 million barrels of oil a day, domestic consumption amounts to approximately 20 million barrels a day, with the difference imported from foreign suppliers in Mexico, Canada, and other nations primarily in the Americas.
