The plant that went dark

ExxonMobil's refinery in Joliet, Illinois lost power entirely on Monday and shut down. It normally runs about 275,000 barrels of crude a day.

Six percent of the Midwest

Joliet handles roughly 6 percent of all Midwest refining capacity, which makes it one of the region's most important fuel suppliers.

Four states on notice

GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan warned drivers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin to expect higher gas and diesel very soon. Michigan already took its jump.

“we are likely to see gas prices and diesel move higher *very* soon in: IL, IN, OH, WI”

Already climbing everywhere

The national average hit $4.25 a gallon on Monday, up 17.2 cents in a week. Prices rose in every single state.

Oil above $100

Friction between the U.S. and Iran, new hostilities in the Red Sea, and the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline pushed crude past $100 a barrel. Attacks knocked two more Russian refineries offline.

“2026 is anything but a normal energy market”

The West is worse

California leads the country at $5.81 a gallon, then Washington at $5.48, Hawaii at $5.42 and Oregon at $5.00. Oregon jumped 7.2 percent in a month.

Crude is not gasoline

Plenty of oil in the ground does not help if there is nowhere to refine it. Lose a big plant and finished fuel supply tightens fast.

“You can have plenty of crude oil available, but consumers cannot put crude oil in their gas tanks”

No room for error

Winter-blend fuel and softer fall demand usually bring relief. This year, refinery maintenance and tight global supply mean expect volatility, not one clean surge.

“there is much less room for something else to go wrong”