Posted on: Thursday, March 7, 2002

Hawai'i gas prices drop to three-year low

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Leeward O'ahu Writer

A milestone of sorts was reached on O'ahu in recent days when gas prices drop-ped below $1.40 a gallon for the first time in years.

Yesterday, four self-service Nanakuli stations were selling unleaded regular gasoline at $1.39 a gallon — nearly 20 cents less than the O'ahu average of $1.57.

The last time Honolulu saw gas at $1.39 a gallon was in March 1999 when BC Oil Ventures entered the market at that price under the Arco brand. Before that, the last time prices were that low was July 1991, said Douglas Oshiro, of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The Nanakuli stations have been waging a gas war, and with this latest reduction, prices have fallen 36 cents a gallon since mid-October.

Gas prices across Hawai'i are at their lowest in at least two years because of a dramatic drop in crude oil costs, an abundance of fuel and reduced consumer demand in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

At $1.57 a gallon, the average O'ahu price is down 21 cents since November. A gallon of self-serve regular was selling yesterday for $1.82 in Hilo and $1.88 in Wailuku, Maui, according to AAA Hawai'i.

Jeffrey Spring, a spokes-man for AAA, said the national average for self-serve regular yesterday was $1.15 a gallon, up from $1.12 in February.

In Nanakuli, some motorists couldn't believe their eyes.

"I happened to be in Nanakuli on Tuesday and pulled into Tesoro to buy gas," said David Bunker of Kapolei. "I wasn't paying attention to the price, but when I looked at the meter and saw $1.39, I thought, 'Wow!' For a second I thought it must be 1978."