Big Pumpin': Gas Prices Shoot Up Over Past Two Days

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Huge difference between California gas prices and practically everyone else.

Nearly, yep ... but not everyone else.
About 10 days ago I wandered back up to Washington to hang out waiting for birth of another grandchild. The gas price difference as I crossed into Oregon and then Washington was pretty close to indiscernible. It is remaining so -- with the odd exception of diesel which I use, that has now dipped just a bit below regular unleaded up here.

Now there's a clue for you. Refineries are producing (or not so much, in this case) gasoline. Diesel is dropping with crude pricing.

Here's a short news piece reporting on Washington state governor Chris Gregoire identifying the refineries as the problem and writing to the oil / gas industry requesting attention to west coast production.

Gov. Gregoire targets high gas prices | WA drivers pay $4.24/gallon - Federal Way Mirror

Claims that California is third highest pricing in the nation, after Alaska and Hawaii -- and with Washington nearly the same as California (my wallet agrees) ... Oregon right on the tail of Washington.

[nullgeo]

Just bumped into another short item about west coast gas price spikes ... perhaps about to get real intriguing:
Researcher Can
There is almost no detail here ... but it cites that a researcher in Oregon pressed Washington Governor Gregoire to launch an investigation based on suspicion of 'profiteering', if I understand correctly.

A large Washington refinery (Cherry Point, BP, within distant sight of my Washington island property) experienced a fire in February and had to close down for repairs. Yet California refineries continued their normal maintenance shutdowns -- rather than continue to produce to maintain inventories on the west coast until Cherry Point was up again, as would be expected to take advantage of the high pricing. The researcher says that if this was done intentionally, to allow inventories to drop as they did to create a market spike, it amounts to profiteering.

[Leonard64]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Just bumped into another short item about west coast gas price spikes ... perhaps about to get real intriguing:
Researcher Can
There is almost no detail here ... but it cites that a researcher in Oregon pressed Washington Governor Gregoire to launch an investigation based on suspicion of 'profiteering', if I understand correctly.

A large Washington refinery (Cherry Point, BP, within distant sight of my Washington island property) experienced a fire in February and had to close down for repairs. Yet California refineries continued their normal maintenance shutdowns -- rather than continue to produce to maintain inventories on the west coast until Cherry Point was up again, as would be expected to take advantage of the high pricing. The researcher says that if this was done intentionally, to allow inventories to drop as they did to create a market spike, it amounts to profiteering.

$3.05 here unless I use my Food store value card, then it is $2.90.

[nullgeo]

Diesel continues to fall up north here, well under $4 ($3.89 - $3.79 some pumps) ... but gas is not down much ... Costco is the only place below $4.04 ($3.95) ... most stations are still above $4.15 and as high as $4.45 for unleaded!

The fall in diesel, normally higher than unleaded, is really telling and points to the refinery fiasco cited ...

[Fontucky]

We're at $3.87 for ur.

[Bulldogdad]

3.85 reg/ 3.81 diesel

[nullgeo]

So now California is no longer the most expensive in the lower 48 I guess ... Washington is worse and I'll have to check Oregon.

[steel7]

I paid $4.00 yesterday. A barrel of oil is around $84.00.