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This month is on track to have the highest gasoline prices ever seen in September, with AAA saying the average national price per gallon jumped 14 cents over the last month and bucked the trend of lower prices after Labor Day.

While paying a national average of $3.86 Monday for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline — up from $3.83 last week and $3.72 a month ago, according to AAA — might slow the already-weak U.S. economy, it could benefit the local economy, experts said.

The oil and gas industry is among Lafayette’s major economic drivers, and likely the most important, UL geology and petroleum engineering professor Gary Kinsland said.

“I think the petroleum industry is at the top of that list dollarwise, so anything that helps the petroleum industry helps Lafayette tremendously,” Kinsland said.

Locals who have stocks in oil companies benefit when prices are high, Kinsland said, and work often increases.

“When oil prices are high, yes, it does benefit our industry in that it will create more exploration and drilling,” Louisiana Oil and Gas Association President Don Briggs said. Oil was $99 a barrel Monday and briefly hit $100 a barrel Friday.

According to oil service company Schlumberger Limited, 1,856 rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, compared to 1,835 last week and 1,838 a year ago.

Those who question the positive economic impact of higher gas prices should look to the 1980s, when oil prices decreased significantly and hit Lafayette’s economy hard, Kinsland said.

The average price of gasoline in September over the previous five years is $3.07 a gallon.

Kinsland remembers having a conversation with a pizza delivery person who complained about the price of gas, and Kinsland told his he should not be upset over the price because it could increase disposable incomes and drive more people to order a pizza.

“High gas prices are generally good for Lafayette, but people want the economic benefit that comes with high gas prices and don’t want to pay for higher prices,” he said.

In Lafayette on Monday, the average price for a gallon of gasoline was $3.67, up from $3.65 last week and $3.55 a week ago, according to AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

That increase followed a jump of 50 cents in 60 days from early July through the end of August. AAA blamed refinery and supply problems, as well as Hurricane Issac.

Gas prices increased from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest to begin September as markets prepared for possible supply and distribution disruptions from Isaac, according to AAA. However, as concern over the lasting impact of the storm has diminished and Gulf Coast refineries have successfully restarted production.

Any lingering effects from Issac are now gone, Briggs said, who added that global supply and demand issues and unrest in the Middle East likely have pushed up oil prices.

“There is so much turmoil there that it’s a very slippery slope with delays and disruptions with the oil companies,” Briggs said, adding that 55 percent of oil used in the U.S. is imported.

Additionally the Federal Reserve last week took steps to boost economic growth, but those stimulus measures — spending $40 billion a month to buy mortgage bonds to make home buying more affordable and pledging to keep short-term interest rates near zero until mid-2015 — pushed up oil prices and could fuel inflation.

The Fed’s move can push up oil prices in several ways, according to the Associated Press. The Fed creates new money to pay for its mortgage bond purchases. That increases the amount of dollars in circulation and can lower their value. Oil is priced in dollars, so the price tends to rise when the dollar falls. That’s because it costs more for overseas investors to purchase dollars to buy oil.

Still, AAA expects the national average to decline in the coming months as demand drops off following the busy summer driving period, as refineries switch from summer-blend to less expensive winter-blend gasoline and as hurricane season draws to a close.

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Motorists paid the highest pump prices ever for the Labor Day weekend, according to AAA, a result of the largest August increase in seven years and a lingering Tropical Storm Isaac hike.

It’s unclear when gas prices will decline, but they’ve decreased five of the past 10 Septembers, AAA said. Thirty-three million Americans traveled 50 miles or more this Labor Day weekend, AAA said, and 28.2 million traveled by car.

“It has been a really tough summer for drivers nationwide with high gas prices breaking daily records,” AAA spokesperson Avery Ash said in a news release. “Every week there seems to be something new driving up gas prices, whether it is a major refinery fire, a pipeline closure or a Gulf Coast hurricane.”

In Lafayette, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.67 Monday, according to AAA. That did not deter Myrica Lafleur of Baton Rouge from making the trek to Houston this weekend with a vehicle full of children. She stopped in Lafayette to fill up her tank.

“When you’re traveling, you don’t have a choice in the matter, so you just pay what it is, especially when you’re traveling with children,” she said.

Driving is still cheaper than flying, she said: “If I just take my two little ones, I still have to buy a seat for each of them.”

Nationwide, gasoline prices rose 30.8 cents in August. The three main factors driving gas prices in August were crude oil costs, regional supply problems in the Midwest and West Coast caused by refinery and pipeline disruptions, and Gulf Coast refinery closures forced by Isaac, according to AAA.

Prices have been so high that all Mallory Olivier could do was shrug at the price at the pump.

“It’s not much higher. It’s been as high as $3.69,” he said.

Isaac pushed the national average gasoline price up 10 cents per gallon in one week, including a 5 cent gain Wednesday that was the biggest one-day gain since February 2011.

Gas prices everywhere rose because of Isaac, with the price per gallon increase between 5 and 15 cents depending on the area, said Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association.

“The key point to keep in mind is that this was not a prolonged crisis. It doesn’t take the refineries that long to get back up to full speed,” he said.

Contrary to popular belief that prices always rise during major holiday weekends, a GasBuddy.com analysis of Labor Day weekend prices from 2001 through 2011 showed that the national average price of gas actually declined in 10 of the last 11 years, said Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for the website.

In three of those years, the decline was nominal, by 0.5 cents per gallon or less. In 2006, prices fell 3.3 cents per gallon from Friday through Monday. In 2002, gasoline rose 2.6 cents over the Labor Day Weekend. That was the only year when prices increases, according to the GasBuddy.com analysis.

Experts were unsure how long it will take prices to fall.

“It is difficult to say how gas prices will fluctuate,” Briggs said. “We are moving into a season where the refineries will be changing out the types of fuels that are used. With gas prices, there are many different contributing factors. However, Labor Day is around the time that refineries begin looking at the winter blends of gas, moving away from the summer blends that tend to be pricer to the consumer.”

AAA expects prices to drop this month as refineries resume operation, and gasoline demand decreases following the end of the summer driving season and refineries transition to the production of less-expensive winter-blend fuels.

“While prices should drop in September barring any major developments, we expect gasoline to remain at or near-record highs through the end of 2012,” Ash said.

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Hurricane Isaac is on its way west along the Gulf Coast, where much of the nation’s gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil are produced. With many refineries shut down, it could increase the price of gas.

According to a survey by motorist group AAA, the national price for a gallon of regular gas crept up 0.6 cents to $3.76 Tuesday. According to the same survey, sharper prices were recorded in states along Isaac’s path, with gas jumping 2.5 cents to $3.64 a gallon in Louisiana, a little more than 2 cents to $3.56 in Mississippi and 1.3 cents to $3.58 in Alabama.

Don Briggs, president of Louisiana’s Oil and Gas Association, spoke to Eyewitness News about Isaac’s potential effect on gas prices.

He said they’ll spike for a short period of time but that will be the extent of it. But with Hurricane Isaac’s new path west, encompassing the entire gulf region from Florida to Texas, there’s fear both Louisiana and Texas refineries could shut down at the same time, which could be catastrophic for drivers.

“That would probably run it up some. I would hate to venture what it would be,” Briggs said.

In Charlotte, gas prices jumped two cents overnight. Eyewitness News spoke to people filling up, fearing it could happen again.

“I thought ahead and that’s why I’m here. Even though it is $67, I thought ahead,” Paul Incalcatera said.

The United States consumes about 19 million barrels of oil per day.

Gulf oil rigs produce more than a quarter of the nation’s crude oil. While refineries account for more than 60 percent of the nation’s oil and gas production.

With rigs and refineries shut down close to two billion barrel of oil are not being produced per day.

President Barack Obama has already talked about dipping into the nation’s strategic oil reserve, but if Isaac moves out of the Gulf region by the weekend, oil executives said that won’t be necessary.

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Driving down the road searching for cheap gasoline can be a touch disheartening. Individuals across the country are feeling the effects of the price ticker at the pump continually climbing. As the country mulls through yet another political campaign season, solutions for bringing gasoline prices down are abundant. Can these Presidential candidates really do anything about the prices or is it nothing more than political rhetoric? The GOP claims it is President Obama’s problem, President Obama blames former President Bush, and the blame game continues. However, many factors play into the high gasoline prices.

The price of crude oil is a leading factor for high gasoline prices. As crude oil is currently trading over $100 per barrel, the US market will naturally fill the increase in pricing at the pump. While the price of crude oil rises and falls over time, the price per gallon of gasoline is estimated to be at nearly four dollars by July 4^th. As with any market, crude oil is a cyclical market that traditionally corrects itself as the summer months close out. While the cause of these cyclical prices is due to the world market demand, the United States helps contribute to the problem by importing around 9 million barrels of crude oil per day.

As the US demand for crude oil increases each year, it appears that the United States will never truly reach energy independence. However, thanks to the new developments surrounding Natural Gas plays in the United States and the advancement in horizontal drilling technology, resource independence can be a potential reality for Americans. As more vehicles each month are introduced that run on compressed natural gas, this will only assist in lowering the demand for crude oil, which in turn could reduce the price of gasoline.

Another influence on gasoline prices is the geo-political unrest in the Middle East. The United States has been in a decade-long conflict with Iraq, Iran is hostile towards Israel, and the list goes on. With the constant threat of these wars and international crises in the Middle East, pain will continually be felt at the pump. Again, whether peace is ever achieved oversees, America will only feel relief surrounding gasoline prices when our own natural resources are used to fuel the country.

Lastly, the value of the US dollar plays a major role in the price of gasoline. As the US dollar becomes less and less valuable, the cost of gasoline seems to grow higher and higher. Since stabilizing the US currency against international currencies is a battle all of its own, first stabilizing the US economy must take place. The oil and gas industry is contributing to economic stability by adding hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs thanks to the massive increase in drilling for newly reachable shale plays. While gasoline prices are a good cause for gloom and despair for pumping patrons, the solution can be achieved by utilizing US-produced natural resources.