El Pasoans paying the most for gas in Texas after reaching an all-time record high

EL PASO, Texas -- Statewide, the average price of gas went up 20 cents from last week, according to AAA. This puts gas prices in Texas at an all-time record high. Leading that list is El Paso.

The average price for a gallon of gas in El Paso is $4.23. This is just behind the national average price for a gallon of gas which is $4.42.

"It's hard for people who live paycheck-to-paycheck like I do the prices are astronomical and it's really quite frightening,” said Laura Kowasaki.

"Pain for me is not even the answer its really really disturbing," said Elizabeth Sobotta.

Fuel prices are soaring in the borderland and it's leaving people asking why.

"I don't know like I want to trade in my car for a smaller engine," said Noel Barriga.

I spoke with an oil analyst who says that even with an oil refinery in our own backyard, there are other contributing factors to our high prices.

“It is a little odd there are a lot of moving pieces. Right now crude oil, we’re at a $106 a barrel,”  said Denton Cinquegrana Oil Analyst for Oil Price Information Services.

“Basically, crude oil goes into a tower they heat it up to these high temperatures and these different products come out of it,” said Cinquegrana.

He says those products are gas, diesel, and jet fuel. He says though Marathon Refinery likely sends fuel here they distribute as far out as Phoenix. 

“The El Paso refinery does have some pipeline connectivity that goes, you know, further north into Texas and into New Mexico and actually as far west as Phoenix, Arizona. So there's barrels going into those pipelines and feeding some of those markets as well," said Cinquegrana.

He says a higher emphasis on producing diesel instead of gas because of its higher profit margin might have come at the expense of gas production.

"There's a constant flow it's just that right now that flow may not be enough to keep up with demand," said Cinquegrana.

To follow gas price trends and find the lowest gas prices in El Paso, click here.