Need a good-news story? Here it is: 99-cent gas

Spur Oil No. 7 BP, a gas station in London, Kentucky, decided to cut the price of its unleaded gasoline to 99 cents on Wednesday as a way to help the community in tough times. The surprise sale spurred customers to pack the station’s parking lot and spill into the road as they waited to fill up. Once word spread, the gas quickly sold out.

Gas Buddy Media Relations rep and Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan tweeted this morning that the Kentucky gas station listed a price of $0.99. Without context, it would seem that the insanely low price could be the result of the recent economic downturn amid the COVID-19 outbreak, and that’s part of it, but the cheap gas is a bit deeper than that. According to the Gas Buddy app, other gas stations near this specific Spur Oil are listing unleaded for $1.39 at Liberty gas, $1.79 at Circle K, $1.85 at a different BP, $1.85 at Sunoco, and so on.

Spur Oil is doing this as a way to help others and create a positive moment in a time when they are few and far between. According to local station WYMT, a note posted at the station read: 

During this DIFFICULT time, we would like to give back to our COMMUNITY by offering LOWER FUEL PRICES at .99 cents for UNLEADED, as long as we can. At this time, we are ONLY offering this price at our #7 location in Laurel County. #Kentucky Strong #ShopLocal #GiveBack.  

Autoblog tried to call Spur Oil No. 7 BP this morning, but the lady who answered simply said, “Everybody’s real busy right now,” and hung up. We’re sure she’s right.

According to Gas Buddy data, several states across the United States have averages below $2, but none of them are anywhere near $1. The cheapest state is Oklahoma with an average price of $1.77, while Kentucky has an average price of $1.92. Only California and Hawaii remain more expensive than $3, with average prices of $3.26 and $3.43, respectively.

Spur Oil has not determined just how long it will continue the sale. For more information on the story, watch the video report on WYMT.

99 CENTS IS HERE: Just got off the phone to verify, but a BP station in London, KY has dropped its price to 99 CENTS PER GALLON. pic.twitter.com/S7yx8TNSRg

— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) March 19, 2020