Gas stations hurt by prices, too

Top U.S. oil company executives told Congress yesterday that their combined $123 billion profit last year is in line with other industries — but Ray Pirzadeh, manager of a Citgo station on New York Avenue Northeast, doesn’t believe it for a minute.

“Big corporations are getting fat and fat and fat every day,” Mr. Pirzadeh said. “Where did they get that money from?”

Mr. Pirzadeh, a 57-year-old Falls Church resident, said high gas prices are hurting gas stations as much as motorists.

“Some people are confused,” Mr. Pirzadeh said. “They think that the dealer is making money. We are not making money. The money goes to the oil companies,” which are exaggerating the demand for gas and increasing prices for no reason.

Motorists can expect gas prices to rise another 20 cents or 30 cents per gallon in the short term, according to John Townsend, public affairs manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

“We believe the national average will be around $3.50 a gallon by Memorial Day,” the traditional start of the summer driving season, he said. “In some parts of the country you’ll see gas as high as $4.”

Mr. Pirzadeh cited credit-card company greed as an under-reported cause for high prices at the pump.

The 6 cents-per-gallon cut that card companies received just two years ago has doubled, he said.

Walter Haselrig, a facilities manager at a D.C. law firm, filled up at Mr. Pirzadeh’s Citgo station yesterday. He said he is cutting back on vacations and consolidating errands as gas prices continue to rise.

Mr. Haselrig said he has almost stopped driving his brand new BMW and is considering buying a hybrid car that gets better mileage.

“We as consumers tend to go along with the program,” he said. “It hurts for awhile and then we become complacent.”

Jason Sanders, 35, was in the District yesterday on a business trip. The Charlotte, N.C., resident said he was prepared to pay more for gas in a metropolitan area.

“In the South it’s always cheaper,” he said. “In North Carolina, people drive to South Carolina to get gas.”

Mr. Sanders said he expects to see $4 gas this summer.

For now, Mr. Pirzadeh said he places his hope in Congress to help ordinary people get by.

“They want to drive, they want to go to work, they want to survive,” he said.