'Gas war' brings cheapest gas in United States (by a lot) to Stephenville, Texas

A gas station located at 2725 W Washington St. in Stephenville, Texas sells a gallon of unleaded gasoline for $1.29 on Nov. 9, 2015. A gas station located at 2725 W Washington St. in Stephenville, Texas sells a gallon of unleaded gasoline for $1.29 on Nov. 9, 2015. Photo: San Antonio Express-News Photo: San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close 'Gas war' brings cheapest gas in United States (by a lot) to Stephenville, Texas 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

A gas war in a small Texas town has led to the cheapest fuel in the country by about 40 cents per gallon.

Two stations in Stephenville, about 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth, are selling a gallon of unleaded gasoline for $1.29 as of Monday.

"Nobody is anywhere near that in the country," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. "They are selling at a substantial loss."

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By comparison, the cheapest gas in San Antonio on Monday is $1.83, about 14 cents under the state average. The average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. is $2.21.

So, why would the Allsups-owned Alon station, located at 2725 W Washington St., and the H-E-B, at 2150 Washington St., take such a loss on their product?

"It's a gas war," said Suzy Martin, manager of the 20-pump Alon station, in a phone interview with mySA.com on Monday, attributing the quickly dropping prices to "competitive prices."

Four other stations caught in the crossfire in Stephenville are selling for less than $1.48. That makes all six cheaper than any other station in the country, DeHaan said.

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The cheapest gas outside Stephenville in the United States on Nov. 9, is in the low $1.70s or high $1.60s, DeHann said, citing real-time GasBuddy data.

Martin said her station's prices were at $1.43 Friday and $1.37 on Saturday. The price dropped to $1.29 on Sunday.

"We have doubled our fuel sales in the last three days," she said. "Every pump has been full. One customer brought a (fuel) tank and bought $600 worth."

When asked whether the prices would continue to drop, Martin said: "We will if we need to."

The last time the average retail price for a gallon of unleaded gas in Texas was under $1 was for a few days in January and February of 2002, DeHaan said.

kparker@mysa.com

Twitter: @KoltenParker