Cheaper Gas In OKC

By Dan Bewley, News On 6

TULSA, OK -- How can 100 miles make so much of a difference?

That's what many drivers who travel between Tulsa and Oklahoma City wonder, when they see the difference in gas prices. It can be as much as 30 cents a gallon.

A News On 6 viewer makes several round trips Bixby to Oklahoma City every week. He's conducted his personal study and wonders why drivers there typically pay less than drivers here in Green Country.

The signs across the Tulsa metro stick pretty close to $2.64, making it easy to be thankful we're not paying closer to four dollars like just a month ago. But then The News On 6 got a picture, showing $2.35 a gallon, at a Shell in Norman.

Dennis Ingram was the man behind the shutter.

What prompted Ingram to take that picture on Tuesday?

"At 10 cents a gallon, by the time I get home it might change. But at 30 cents, I wouldn't have sent it to you all if Tulsa dropped, if they'd been sitting constant, so I think somebody has got some answering to do," said Ingram.

For example, a Shell in Broken Arrow is $2.64; a Shell in Oklahoma City is $2.49 a gallon, a 15 cent difference.

"Consistently it is. A lot of times in the summer it's only a dime, but yesterday it was 30-cents difference," said Ingram.

The summer difference is an easy answer. Stores like QuikTrip and Kum & Go have agreed to use a higher grade of fuel in the summer time to keep Tulsa off the dirty air list which causes the price to rise. There's no arrangement like that in Oklahoma City.

But summer's over so why the big difference now?

A spokeswoman for Conoco-Phillips says there are a variety of reasons with competition in the marketplace being number one.

You can also factor in transportation, cost of the product, even the scale of the business. But Ingram says whatever the cause he's getting very familiar with gas stations in Oklahoma City.

"Only makes sense. I'm on empty now, I'll fill up just enough to get me over there and then I'll fill up over there, it just makes good sense," said Ingram.

Despite the price difference, Tulsa is still the fifth ranked city for inexpensive gas, according to GasBuddy.com. Oklahoma City is ranked second.

There could be more good news on the horizon, a spokesman for QuikTrip says they expect the price to continue to drop here in Tulsa.