Bonanza, Crowley drop fuel prices at the pump

The last barge of the season is still a month away but fuel prices for the year have been set and are here to stay.
On August 4, Bonanza Express announced the new fuel price for unleaded gas is $6.299/gallon and for diesel is $6.649/gallon.
A few days later Crowley changed the unleaded price to $6.34 and diesel to $7.34.
Both Crowley and Bonanza’s previous unleaded gas price was $6.99/gallon.
CEO of Bonanza Fuel Scot Henderson explained that fuel deliveries typically are made twice a year, spring and summer, changing the fuel cost each delivery. As soon as sea ice moves out and the barging season begins, fuel barges arrive in Nome to make deliveries. Last January, at an unusual time, Bonanza lowered the price of fuel by $0.35 per gallon. The reason for that price adjustment was the extremely high fuel prices during summer 2022, and management wanted to make it more affordable for residents to get through the winter, explained Henderson.
Because of that winter price adjustment, Bonanza fuel prices didn’t change when the first fuel barge came into Nome’s Port in June.
Now, Henderson said, the fuel price is set for the rest of the year, although the last fuel barge won’t be coming in for another month.
“We didn’t want to get into a position where we changed the prices twice,” said Henderson. “We waited until we knew what our 2023 cost would be and then we set it.”
Bonanza Fuel is currently operating through a temporary gas station while they replace their underground fuel tank which was “at the end of its life,” according to Henderson.
The temporary station is located on the corner of 4th Ave and West C St. and is fully operating until the fuel tank is replaced in about three weeks.
Henderson thanks customers for being patient throughout the construction and congestion on Bering Street and for adapting to using the temporary station.
As of press time, Crowley has not responded to repeated requests by the Nugget to comment.