(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

The impact from U.S. President Joe Biden’s announcement earlier today that he’s banning Russian oil imports has not yet been felt at gas pumps in the Okanagan and Kamloops just yet, but it won’t be long.

“You’re going to blow right through $2,” Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst with En-Pro International, told iNFOnews.ca. “No problem at all.”

Most gas stations in Kelowna and Kamloops were still below the $2 mark, as of 1:30 p.m. today, March 8, selling a litre of regular for $1.95.5.

READ MORE: Gas prices jump 20¢ per litre in Thompson-Okanagan

“I don’t know how long this can keep going on for,” McKnight said. “I don’t know how long he (Putin) can carry on with this invasion.”

Don’t expect prices to return to the way they were before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“When things get back to normal, they won’t be the old normal,” McKnight said. “The oil situation is going to carry on much longer after this thing simmers down.”

The U.S. is not only cutting about 200,000 barrels of crude oil that it imports daily from Russia (out of 22 million barrels it uses every day) but about 500,000 barrels of refined gas, diesel and aviation fuel.

A Feb. 28 Government of Canada news release said it was banning crude oil imports from Russia but has not imported Russian oil since 2019. That doesn’t mean Canada will catch any kind of price break because it uses so little Russian oil.

READ MORE: Biden bans Russian oil, warns of 'Putin price hike' at pump

“If the U.S. sneezes, we get pneumonia,” McKnight said. “Crude oil prices in Canada are set on the world market.”

The solution, at least in the short to middle term, is not going to be with electric vehicles (EV).

“It’s not like going to McDonald’s and ordering a milkshake,” McKnight said. “You can’t just turn the switch on. Everybody says it’s a great idea and everything but, oh by the way, we don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have the right price, we don’t have the manufacturing capability and we don’t have the lithium to power the batteries. All that’s well and good, let's go EV, but you can’t do that overnight.”

And, he has a warning to those who think a massive switch to electric will save tons of money.

“If you’re suddenly going to drop 33 cents a litre out of the gasoline tax situation and there’s no gasoline vehicles on the road, that 33 cents a litre is going to be replaced somewhere,” McKnight said. “Switching to an EV may look very nice for a headline for the environmental groups but, when it comes time to finance it, it’s not going to be that great a deal.”

READ MORE: Canada can increase oil exports to U.S., but can't fill hole left by Russia: experts

Spring break starts in B.C. this weekend. McKnight doesn’t expect many to be cancelling travel plans because of high gas prices.

“I don’t think they will,” he said “Gasoline and diesel are necessary, absolutely essential evils, unless you have a less evil evil, that being electricity or whatever, then bring it on. But that’s not going to be happening this weekend.”

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