Oil bottleneck gives Rockies cheaper gasoline

This Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 photo shows a sign outside a gas station in Cheyenne, Wyo., that advertises some of the least expensive gasoline to be found anywhere in the United States. According to AAA, Wyoming has the nation's cheapest gasoline, due to its low fuel taxes and a regional abundance of crude oil from Canada and North Dakota. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A boom in domestic oil drilling has helped lower U.S. gasoline prices, though the steepest drops have missed California commuters, Midwestern farmers and even New York commodities traders who know all about oil pricing.

Many drivers on the East and West coasts are paying over $1 a gallon more than drivers in the Rockies. One factor is the region's relative abundance of oil from booming fields in Canada and North Dakota.
Analysts say oil is bottlenecked in the Rockies because U.S. pipelines were built to carry oil from the coasts inland — not in the opposite direction.
Relatively low fuel taxes also help keep gasoline prices low in Rocky Mountain states.