This week, the national average cost of regular gasoline broke a record set more than a decade ago, and on Friday Jacksonville saw a record-high average of $4.376 a gallon. 

Meanwhile, in St. Johns County, prices are climbing well above the $4 mark. Friday's average price in the county was $4.384. 

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On Tuesday, the national average cost for a regular gallon was $4.17, breaking the July 2008 record of $4.11, which would be around $5.25 today when adjusted for inflation. Friday's national average was $4.331, according to AAA. 

According to GasBuddy, at least a couple of gas stations were offering gas in St. Johns County for $4.19 a gallon on Friday morning: Buc-ee's at 200 World Commerce Parkway and Owens at 780 South Ponce de Leon Boulevard in St. Augustine. 

About noon on Thursday at RaceTrac at U.S. 1 and Old Moultrie Road, people shared concerns about prices at the pump. The cost for regular gas there was $4.399 per gallon. 

"Crazy," St. Johns County resident Patti Schiavo said as the gas meter ticked higher while she fueled up her SUV. 

Schiavo said it takes about $100 to fill her vehicle now. With gas prices on the rise and other costs, such as groceries, climbing, her family is considering putting off a trip to the Florida Keys, she said. 

"When is it going to stop?" she said. 

But Schiavo wasn't alone when she said that she didn't want to complain because people in Ukraine and elsewhere are dealing with more serious problems. 

Lynn Harris, of St. Augustine, expressed gratitude that she is able to afford gas-price increases and also for not having to experience war. 

"We're very fortunate. There's no bombs dropping," she said. 

Rick Wright, of St. Augustine, said the price increases mean he's driving his traditional vehicle less and riding his motorcycle more. 

While he said he understands the influence of things such as the war in Ukraine on gas prices, he questioned how much major gas companies may be unnecessarily raising prices. 

Cassandra Panasuk, of Daytona Beach, said she tries not to think about the increases. 

"I definitely feel the difference. … I hope it doesn't go too much higher," she said. 

Average price for a gallon of regular gasoline:

Highest Recorded Average Price: $4.376 (March 11, 2022)

Highest Recorded Average Price: $4.378 (March 11, 2022)

Previous Highest Recorded Average Price (prior to this month): $4.079 (July 16, 2008)

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been fueling increases in global prices for crude oil, the primary ingredient used to produce gasoline and other petroleum products. The increases began well before the invasion amid growing concerns that the crisis would disrupt global oil supplies.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced that the United States will ban Russian oil imports. That is expected to drive fuel pump prices even higher domestically even though Russia only accounts for a tiny fraction of the oil consumed annually in our country.

Crude oil prices are determined by global supply and demand, not by individual countries, politicians, or even the oil companies themselves, according to industry experts.

"This is a global commodity. Everyone feels the effects of it (the Ukraine crisis)," said Patrick DeHaan, the Chicago-based head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.com. "This is not just a U.S. problem. Every country that consumes gasoline is seeing prices dramatically higher."

When U.S. refineries, for example, temporarily halt production in the Gulf of Mexico because of hurricanes, it causes crude oil prices around the world to go up, he said.

According to the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers trade association, the United States in 2021 imported an average of 209,000 barrels of petroleum and 500,000 barrels of petroleum products a day from Russia.

That combined total of 709,000 barrels a day accounted for only 3.58% of the 20.65 million barrels of oil and petroleum products our nation consumed each day last year.

Becoming energy independent as a nation has been a stated goal for the United States since 1973 when President Richard Nixon first identified it as a priority.

That has yet to actually happen, even though our county has been exporting more oil than we import as of late.

The United States in the first half of 2020 exported more oil than it imported for only the second time in history, according to the U.S, Energy Information Administration. Our country remained a net exporter of oil in the first half of 2021, but just barely. U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products such as distillate fuel oil, motor gasoline, and jet fuel, exceeded imports by 120,000 barrels per date, or less than 1% of the combined total amount exported and imported.

Even as a net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products, the United States still relies on imports from other countries, particularly on the West Coast and in the Northeast because of challenges related to geography, transportation, and logistics, according to the AFPM.

The answer is, the United States already is. According to a statement issued by the White House on Tuesday, the Biden administration has already committed to releasing more than 90 million barrels from the national Strategic Petroleum Reserve this fiscal year. Member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to a collective release of an initial 60 million barrels from their respective strategic petroleum reserves. That total included the 30 million released last week in an emergency sale by the United States.

U.S. oil and gas production is already approaching record highs, but according to the Biden administration "thousands of drilling permits of federal lands go unused." That's because it is up to oil and gas companies, and the finance firms that back them, to do the actual drilling. 

Not any time soon, said DeHaan, referring to abandoned controversial project to build a pipeline that could increase the amount of oil delivered to the U.S. from Canada. Only 8% of the proposed Phase 4 project was finished when it was scrapped by TC Energy.

In talking with oil companies, DeHaan said he was told, "Even if the Keystone was finished tomorrow, that they don't have the manpower, they don't have equipment, they don't have the people, they don't have a lot of the things they need to increase oil production. Canada does not have excess oil that they could suddenly put in this pipeline. The problem is so much of this is from COVID and supply chains are out of whack."

DeHaan on Tuesday following Biden's announcement, predicted U.S. gasoline prices will likely keep "inching higher towards $4.50 a gallon," but said he does not expect to continue see dramatic price jumps like that ones seen early this week, at least for the nation as a whole. California, however, could see the average price of gas hit $6, he said. 

"The good news for motorists is that oil prices (Tuesday afternoon) backed off somewhat. The increases will continue, but the pace of those increases will likely slow down."

"President Biden's announcement (on Tuesday) was not a surprise. It probably will have some influence, but not very much," he said. That's because "many oil companies were already curbing the flow of Russian oil ahead of (the U.S. ban). It's not going to necessarily have a shockwave."

— USA TODAY contributed to this report.