Colorado gas prices will undoubtedly rise after Commerce City’s Suncor oil refinery shut down for at least three months after sustaining damage to its equipment, according to company officials.

They attributed the damage to “extreme and record-setting weather” in a news release Wednesday.

The company will shut the entire facility down for inspection and repair of damages. They anticipate the refinery to be fully up and running again by the end of March.

The Commerce City refinery is Colorado’s only active oil refinery.

Colorado Oil and Gas Association President and CEO Dan Haley said Suncor produces approximately 40% of the gasoline used in Colorado.

“(The shutdown) likely will increase gasoline costs,” Haley said.

AAA spokesperson Skyler McKinley said it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how much gas prices will increase because it depends on the global and Colorado economies.

“They’re not going to be dramatic relative to the year we just lived through, they won’t be a dollar more,” McKinley said. “But you will see increases and you will see consistent increases…especially in the Front Range.”

Suncor’s refinery also produces jet fuel for aircraft that operate at Denver International Airport, and its closing likely will trigger significant increases in flight costs, McKinley said.

The refinery also produces a significant portion of the asphalt used in paving projects in Colorado, so construction timelines could get pushed back, McKinley said.

“While there will be supply hiccups, there won’t be supply shocks,” McKinley said.

The news of the entire facility shutdown comes after two fires broke out at the refinery in the past week.

The problems seem to have started as soon as the temperatures quickly dropped below 0 degrees Wednesday night Dec. 21. Just before 3 a.m. Thursday, Suncor officials notified area residents: “Early this morning, Suncor brought several units at the Commerce City refinery. Our emergency response teams were immediately activated. As part of our response plan, refinery alarms were sounded. All workers are accounted for, and there are no reported injuries.”

On Saturday, a fire broke out at the refinery at 10:50 a.m., injuring two workers who went to the hospital, according to a Suncor news release. There is no word on their current condition.

On Tuesday, a fire broke out in Plant 2 at the refinery during the company’s process of shutting it down.

The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes according to a Suncor spokesperson and nobody was injured.

A spokesperson said via email Wednesday morning: “Data gathered from the Commerce City North Denver (CCND) Air Monitors did not indicate any acute public health concerns. Specifically, concentrations for all compounds measured remained below acute health guideline values before, during and immediately following the event. We will continue to monitor this network until our response to this incident is complete.”

The statement made no mention of the pending shutdown.

“We notified the appropriate response and regulatory agencies including the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment,” according to the statement. “We are working to determine the cause of the fire. Suncor’s top priority is ensuring the health and safety of people in our workplace and in the communities where we operate.”

It is unclear whether the fires were caused by the weather and whether or not those fires have anything to do with the temporary refinery shutdown. Suncor declined Denver Gazette’s request for clarification Friday.

In comparison to other refinery shutdowns AAA has seen, McKinley said this one is relatively short.

He said there is also a positive angle to the shutdown, as offline refineries often lead to improvements in environmental health outcomes in surrounding areas.

“These things spit off a ton of pollution, which is why we haven’t built a major refinery in the US since 1977,” McKinley said. “There will be some modest environmental benefits.”

Colorado gas prices will undoubtedly rise after Commerce City’s Suncor oil refinery shut down for at least three months after sustaining damage to its equipment, according to company officials.

They attributed the damage to “extreme and record-setting weather” in a news release Wednesday.

The company will shut the entire facility down for inspection and repair of damages. They anticipate the refinery to be fully up and running again by the end of March.

The Commerce City refinery is Colorado’s only active oil refinery.

Colorado Oil and Gas Association President and CEO Dan Haley said Suncor produces approximately 40% of the gasoline used in Colorado.

“(The shutdown) likely will increase gasoline costs,” Haley said.

An AAA spokesperson said it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how much gas prices will increase because it depends on the global and Colorado economies.

“They’re not going to be dramatic relative to the year we just lived through, they won’t be a dollar more,” the spokesperson said. “But you will see increases and you will see consistent increases…especially in the Front Range.”

Jet fuel for a lot of DIA flights is also sources from Suncor, so the AAA spokesperson said there will likely be a significant rise in flights costs.

The refinery also produces a significant portion of the asphalt used in paving projects in Colorado, so construction timelines could get pushed back, the spokesperson said.

“While there will be supply hiccups, there won’t be supply shocks,” the spokesperson said.

The news of the entire facility shutdown comes after two fires broke out at the refinery in the past week.

The problems seem to have started as soon as the temperatures quickly dropped below 0 degrees Wednesday night Dec. 21. Just before 3 a.m. Thursday, Suncor officials notified area residents: “Early this morning, Suncor brought several units at the Commerce City refinery. Our emergency response teams were immediately activated. As part of our response plan, refinery alarms were sounded. All workers are accounted for, and there are no reported injuries.”

On Saturday, a fire broke out at the refinery at 10:50 a.m., injuring two workers who went to the hospital, according to a Suncor news release. There is no word on their current condition.

On Tuesday, a fire broke out in Plant 2 at the refinery during the company’s process of shutting it down.

The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes according to a Suncor spokesperson and nobody was injured.

A spokesperson said via email Wednesday morning: “Data gathered from the Commerce City North Denver (CCND) Air Monitors did not indicate any acute public health concerns. Specifically, concentrations for all compounds measured remained below acute health guideline values before, during and immediately following the event. We will continue to monitor this network until our response to this incident is complete.”

The statement made no mention of the pending shutdown.

“We notified the appropriate response and regulatory agencies including the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment,” according to the statement. “We are working to determine the cause of the fire. Suncor’s top priority is ensuring the health and safety of people in our workplace and in the communities where we operate.”

It is unclear whether the fires were caused by the weather and whether or not those fires have anything to do with the temporary refinery shutdown. Suncor declined Denver Gazette’s request for clarification Friday.

In comparison to other refinery shutdowns AAA has seen, the spokesperson said this one is relatively short.

He said there is also a positive angle to the shutdown, as offline refineries often lead to improvements in environmental health outcomes in surrounding areas.

“These things spit off a ton of pollution, which is why we haven’t built a major refinery in the US since 1977,” the spokesperson said. “There will be some modest environmental benefits.”