SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A large Indiana oil refinery whose unplanned shutdown for repairs earlier this month caused gasoline prices in the Great Lakes region to spike restarted Tuesday, leading experts to predict a quick drop in prices.

BP issued a news release Tuesday saying it has safely restarted a large crude distillation unit at its refinery in Whiting, 15 miles southeast of Chicago. The unit had been shut down since Aug. 8 for unscheduled repair work. Gas prices were about $2.38 on Aug. 9.

“Retail prices across the Midwest had been moving lower already for the past seven days or so after that issue first caused a spike. So the recent drop in prices may accelerate in the days ahead and in the next two to three weeks we could see prices drop some 20 to 50 cents,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst.

AAA Hoosier Motor Club reports gas prices hit a high of $2.976 for self-serve regular unleaded on Aug. 16 in Indiana. Gas prices had been $2.36 on Aug. 11 and jumped nearly 53 cents in three days. The average price in Indiana on Tuesday was $2.74.

PITTSBURGH — A global information technology services firm is giving Carnegie Mellon University $35 million to fund a new research and education facility.The Pittsburgh university announced the gift from India-based Tata Consulting Services on Wednesday.The facility is designed to be a collaborative space for students, researchers and company staff. Officials say the 40,000-square-foot building will have space where university faculty can collaborate and the firm's staff can interact with staff and students.