As the price for petroleum products rises across the country, so do the number of complaints by motorists who are feeling the pinch at the pump.

Residents of northcentral Pennsylvania are not immune to this notion, as the price for a gallon of unleaded, self-serve gasoline hovers near $3 a gallon – while the number of oil and gas wells being drilled skyrockets.

“I have not received as many complaints as I thought I would,” Larry Loughlin, vice president of human resources for United Refining Co., in Warren said. “We have gotten the usual complaints when the gasoline prices go up. There is no quick fix for it. Everybody seems to think the price of gas shouldn’t fluctuate with the demand.”

United Refining markets a majority of the petroleum products across the region, operating 376 Kwik Fill, Red Apple and Country Fair retail gasoline and convenience stores in western Pennsylvania and New York state. It also produces more than 65,200 barrels of oil a day at its refinery, including various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene and heating oil, among others.

Fred Charlton of Baden is one person who has taken offense to the rising costs of the petroleum products.

Contacting The Era recently, Charlton said he is a weekend visitor to the Bradford area, buying kerosene at local stores. During a recent stop at a Kwik Fill in Marienville in Forest County, Charlton said K1 kerosene was being sold for $2.69 compared to $2.59 a gallon for diesel fuel.

“The local prices are always high,” Charlton said, adding he contacted United about the situation and was eventually put in touch with Loughlin. “He (Loughlin) told me ‘we are a free enterprise here and they (United) can charge $5 a gallon if they want.’

“That’s price gouging right there,” Charlton claimed, noting Loughlin sent him a letter dated April 26 confirming the conversation. “It’s like hitting people in the face with a ball bat.”

Charlton’s complaint is nothing new, as local residents have believed for years they are paying the highest prices around.

According to the most recent American Automobile Association’s Fuel Gauge Report, released last week, Bradford residents were paying an average of $2.999 a gallon – with the average price across the region standing at $2.972 a gallon. Meanwhile, as of Monday, local oil purchasers American Refining Group and Ergon Oil Purchasing were paying $67 and $65.75 a barrel, respectively.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Web site indicates the tax for gasoline and gasohol – which is gasoline with a mixture of 10 percent ethanol included – stands at 31 cents a gallon. Meanwhile, the Web site notes other fuels, including undyed diesel and kerosene have a tax of 38 cents a gallon.

The state tax on gasoline – under a provision in the Oil Company Franchise Tax – automatically hikes each year. The law, created in 1981, imposes a tax on fuel at the wholesale level, but it’s eventually passed onto the consumer at the pump.

“Nobody complains that there is 50 or 60 cents a gallon in taxes,” Loughlin said, “out of which we (United) might make 9 or 10 cents. The consumer in a free enterprise system has the right to pay or not pay what they want for a product.”

According to Loughlin, while the state taxes come to 31.1 cents a gallon, the federal government adds another 18.4 cents. Across the border in New York state, Loughlin said residents there pay a total of 62.9 cents in taxes.

Loughlin added refineries are currently in the stage of “turning over” to meet summer capacity, which includes adding ethanol to the product. He noted there is a 54 cents a gallon tariff on ethanol that is being brought in from outside the country.

“We haven’t built a new refinery in this country since 1976,” Loughlin said. “As the number of vehicles in the country has gone up, the production has gone with it.”

Currently, there is a rush by lawmakers at both the federal and state levels to find a solution to the rising prices.

On Sunday, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was urging Congress to temporarily suspend the tax on imported ethanol, which he claimed would cut gasoline prices by 8 cents a gallon.

Meanwhile, last week, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation which would make it a federal crime to engage in gasoline price manipulation, including for diesel, crude oil or home heating oils.

“Our country is emerged in a full-fledged energy crisis right now …,” U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., said. “It’s my view that in times like these it’s fundamentally unfair for people already under a considerable financial strain to be further extended by a few rotten apples looking to cash in on short supplies of an essential commodity.”

There have been no documented cases of price gouging in this area.