$5 gas is coming. Oil hits $118.88.

And someone's about to find out what happens when your truck payment and fuel bill are the same number.

WTI touched $118.88 this morning — the highest level since the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Strait of Hormuz closure is in its second week. Markets are pricing in a sustained disruption with no clear exit.

The national average for regular gasoline is currently $3.89. But that's a lagging indicator. Wholesale prices move first. Retail follows 7-10 days later. At these crude levels, GasBuddy and AAA are both projecting $5 national average gas within 3-4 weeks if prices hold.

What This Means at the Pump in North Dakota

ND diesel is already running 40-50 cents above the national average due to transportation costs and refinery capacity. If national diesel hits $5.50, you're looking at $6+ at the pump in Dickinson and Watford City. A hotshot running a 400-mile round trip is doing the math in real time. A frac crew burning 9,500 gallons of diesel a day is doing it too.

Higher fuel costs don't automatically kill activity at $100 oil. But they compress margins for service companies and contractors. The guys who feel it first aren't the operators — they're the ones paying for their own fuel to get to location.