CHICAGO (CBS) – This year will go down as another record-setting year for high gas prices in the Chicago area.

WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports the average price of a gallon of gas in the Chicago area was $4 in 2012. The national average for this year is $3.63. That’s a record, too.

“Chicago motorists have never paid out as much as they have in 2012,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum Analyst for Gas Buddy.

To get below last year’s average of $3.83 per gallon in the Chicago area, DeHaan said prices would have to dip to the $2 range for the rest of the year.

In 2010, the average price for gas in the Chicago area was $2.99 a gallon; in 2009, it was $2.51.

DeHaan said he wonders if refineries are producing enough gasoline.

“It’s in their best interests not to produce as much gasoline as Americans would like. If they produce too much, supply rises, and prices go down. So it’s certainly something that I have long been skeptical of,” he said.

In 2013, DeHaan expects more of the same, and another possible record high for gas prices.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser Reports