By Carly Walton

When you stop to get gas, you might choose a gas station that has cheaper gas or one that is closer to you. Over the past couple of weeks gas prices have been climbing, where they have sat at $3.99 for the highest price in the Greensboro metro. Since the United States has had increasing conflicts with Iran, the government lifted its sanctions on Russian oil for a temporary time. We could be seeing gas prices skyrocket to possibly five dollars before we know it as gas prices continue to rise all across the country.

According to the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), sanctions on Russian oil started in October 2022 when Russia first went to war with Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury blacklisted the two largest Russian oil companies. With the Strait of Hormuz closed, getting oil from Middle Eastern countries was not going to work.

Mallory Zelawski, head coach of the women’s lacrosse team, worked in the oil and gas field for 10 years as a geologist. She worked for companies across Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, where the companies drilled for oil. She was responsible for mapping geologic formations that were producing oil and gas to determine any future locations.

“There are many reasons – the coasts, different types of hydrocarbons and supply,” she said when asked why the U.S. buys oil from other countries if we produce our own. “In North America we have been obtaining oil by horizontal drilling and fracking in states like North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas along with parts of Canada.”

Until international conflicts stabilize and oil production adjusts, local drivers may have little choice but to brace for higher prices. As Zelawski’s experience shows, the path from geologic formations to the gas pump while drilling locally is long and complex, and for now, that path is leading straight to steeper costs for Greensboro residents.