Gas Prices In California Hit Record Highs...

[paulitician]

Gasoline station owners in the Los Angeles area including Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) are beginning to shut pumps as the state’s oil refiners started rationing supplies and spot prices surged to a record.

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) stopped selling gasoline on the spot, or wholesale, market in Southern California and is allocating deliveries to customers. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) is also rationing fuel to U.S. West Coast terminal customers. Costco’s outlet in Simi Valley, 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, ran out of regular gasoline yesterday and was selling premium fuel at the price of regular.

The gasoline shortage “feels like a hurricane to me, but it’s the West Coast,” Jeff Cole, Costco’s vice president of gasoline, said by telephone yesterday. “We’re obviously extremely disheartened that we are unable to do this, and we’re pulling fuel from all corners of California to fix this.”

Spot gasoline in Los Angeles has surged $1 a gallon this week to a record $1.45 a gallon premium versus gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s the highest level for the fuel since at least November 2007, when Bloomberg began publishing prices there. On an outright basis, the fuel has jumped to $4.3929 a gallon.

Gasoline at the pump gained 8.3 cents to $4.315 a gallon in California yesterday, according to AAA.com, 53.1 cents more than the national average of $3.784. In Los Angeles the price was $4.347. Gasoline futures for November delivery on the Nymex rose 14.34 cents to settle at $2.9429 a gallon, after falling yesterday to a 10-week low. Retail price movements tend to lag behind those of futures.

More:
California Gas Stations Shut as Oil Refiners Ration Supplies - Bloomberg
DRUDGE REPORT 2012®

 

[Mad Scientist]

This hurts poor people the most, that why the Gov't lets it happen by not allowing exploration.

Nothing like a little artificial scarcity to reward the big oil donors!

 

[Old Rocks]

We are exporting gasoline and diesel by the tanker load. So, if we really needed more exploration, why are we doing that?

 

[uscitizen]

This hurts poor people the most, that why the Gov't lets it happen by not allowing exploration.

Nothing like a little artificial scarcity to reward the big oil donors!

We have plenty of oil right now the problem is refining capacity.
Refine baby refine!

 

[High_Gravity]

I can only imagine, gas is expensive as fuck in California.

 

[eflatminor]

We are exporting gasoline and diesel by the tanker load. So, if we really needed more exploration, why are we doing that?

Wow, you really have zero idea how the international oil market works. It matters little where the buyers of oil products are physically located, the price of oil is affected by worldwide production. The more production, the lower the price regardless of where that production takes place. More importantly, we need more exploration here because there are companies that are willing to pay to do so, creating jobs in the process.

 

[eflatminor]

This hurts poor people the most, that why the Gov't lets it happen by not allowing exploration.

Nothing like a little artificial scarcity to reward the big oil donors!

We have plenty of oil right now the problem is refining capacity.
Refine baby refine!

We need both. And both are restricted by the government meddlers that know what's best for everyone else. But keep voting for the nanny staters...their EPA will certainly allow for more refineries.

 

[bodecea]

This hurts poor people the most, that why the Gov't lets it happen by not allowing exploration.

Nothing like a little artificial scarcity to reward the big oil donors!

We have plenty of oil right now the problem is refining capacity.
Refine baby refine!

Oil prices are down lately...From $100 a barrel to $90...so everyone explain why the price of gas is spiking? Now? It actually went down around the Labor Day holiday period and is now up...a lot...again.

 

[Mad Scientist]

We are exporting gasoline and diesel by the tanker load. So, if we really needed more exploration, why are we doing that?

Well lets see, you don't like FoxNews sources, you hate rich people so Forbes is out. Here, in "Living Green Magazine":
Why Gasoline Prices Are High: U.S. Refineries Are Closing AND Exporting Gasoline : Living Green Magazine

Two large oil refiners in the Northeast, Sunoco and ConocoPhillips, have decided to sell or close refining assets. Sunoco announced the closure of its Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania refinery on December 1, 2011, followed by ConocoPhillip’s closure of its Trainer, Pennsylvania refinery later that month. Sunoco also plans to sell, or close, its Philadelphia refinery. Together, these three refineries comprise over 50% of refining capacity in the Northeast.

See when you intentionally shut down production OR refinement thats called "Artificial Scarcity" and drives prices up.
Do the Oil Companies save some Oil and Gas for us Americans to use? No! That's not "Free Market" silly! Are you a Communist or something?
Do our Elected Officials demand that the Oil Companies save some Oil and Gas for Americans? No! They're owned by those same Oil Companies! What do you think this is, a Democracy? It's a Crony Corporatocracy we live in!

Anyway, there's more:

And here’s what few are talking about—the U.S. refiners export gasoline, and that shrinks our supply!!! Recently, Ron Scherer at the (Evil) Christian Science Monitor wrote a story called “As Gas Prices Rise, Should US Oil Industry Stop Exporting? In it, he says that “US gas prices are soaring and domestic demand is falling. The oil industry says it needs to export to stay in business and avoid layoffs. Others claim that keeps supply low and gas prices high.”

Oh and OldRocks do you know why Domestic Demand is falling? Liberals like you will say it's because we're using more Windmills and Solar Panels and Fairy Dust but that's not true.

It's because the Economy is Shutting Down!

And finally, the Oil Companies threaten layoffs if they aren't allowed to export. Isn't that nice of them?:

“The oil industry maintains the exports are necessary because domestic demand is weak. The industry says if refiners could not send American-made gasoline to China, India, Europe, and South America, the refineries would have to close as several have already done on the East Coast. Yet, other energy observers say exporting gasoline at a time of rising prices is sort of like throwing flammable liquid on a fire.”

Gee I wonder why the US Gov't, when they parcel out drilling contracts and permits, demand that a certain amount of oil and gas be left behind for US Consumption?

 

[uscitizen]

We are exporting gasoline and diesel by the tanker load. So, if we really needed more exploration, why are we doing that?

Wow, you really have zero idea how the international oil market works. It matters little where the buyers of oil products are physically located, the price of oil is affected by worldwide production. The more production, the lower the price regardless of where that production takes place. More importantly, we need more exploration here because there are companies that are willing to pay to do so, creating jobs in the process.

yep the more production of Gasoline the cheaper the price.

and oil only impats the world prices if it can be gotten to market. Why Tar sands oil is cheaper for us to buy now than it will be after the XL pipeline is built.

 

[Katzndogz]

We have more oil, but fewer refineries to make that oil into gas. There is no shortage of oil, there is a rarity of gasoline. Gas station owners are closing, not because they can't get gas at all, but because they can't afford to buy it.

 

[Mad Scientist]

And on top of that our Dollar is being hyper-inflated into extinction. See how it's all coming together now? Sorta like it was planned?

Naw, that would be a Conspiracy Theory! And we all know that Rich and Powerful people NEVER get together to plan anything!

 

[Katzndogz]

Rich and powerful people don't plan to crash the economy. That takes a socialist.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Rich and powerful people don't plan to crash the economy. That takes a socialist.

Socialists need an operating economy to keep their control, they wouldn't think of crashing it.

Rich and Powerful people (Banksters) want to crash the economy so they can come in afterwards and buy everything cheap.

 

[uscitizen]

Rich and powerful people don't plan to crash the economy. That takes a socialist.

As long as they will make money from it they will.
INvest in China!

 

[Katzndogz]

Rich and powerful people don't plan to crash the economy. That takes a socialist.

Socialists need an operating economy to keep their control, they wouldn't think of crashing it.

Rich and Powerful people (Banksters) want to crash the economy so they can come in afterwards and buy everything cheap.

If this is what you think, you need to read the Cloward-Piven plan. It's right there, step by step, exactly what's happening.

 

[uscitizen]

Working class americans still make too much money to be competitive in the world markets.

 

[waltky]

Will it spread to the rest of the country?...

Gas prices in California skyrocketing
Oct. 5,`12 (UPI) -- Gasoline prices in California skyrocketed to more than $5 a gallon as wholesale prices shot to all-time highs this week, officials said.

The wholesale price of California gasoline hit a record $4.39 a gallon Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported. Many filling stations across the state shut down their pumps as soon as they ran out of fuel they'd bought more cheaply. A sign at one Costco station read: "We do not know when we will be resupplied."

Analysts attribute the rise in wholesale prices to a number of mishaps at the state's 14 refineries and its pipelines. "Most recently there has been a problem with an oil pipeline that supplies gasoline for Tesoro, Valero and Shell stations," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, a price-tracking website.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in New Jersey, added there was a sense of panic among wholesale buyers over continuing refinery problems. "There is a sense out there that this might not just be the typical run of bad timing and bad luck in terms of refinery outages," Kloza said. "People are beginning to wonder whether something else might be involved. Has the heat been a factor? Is the electrical grid holding up? Are these refineries just a little too old?"

Meanwhile, buyers at the pump are shocked to see the high prices at gas stations that are still open. "Holy shoot! I didn't notice that earlier," Aaron Belcher, 38, said. "This is ridiculous."

Read more: Gas prices in California skyrocketing - UPI.com

See also:

California has short-term gasoline crisis
Oct. 5,`12 (UPI) -- Gasoline stations in parts of California stopped selling fuel because of high prices, though one independent analyst said the problem was short term.

Motor group AAA reports the average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in California was $4.48, compared to a national average of $3.78. Customers in the San Francisco area were paying, on average, $4.59 per gallon of regular unleaded.

Valero Energy Corp. stopped selling gasoline on the wholesale market in Southern California. Exxon Mobil, meanwhile, said it was rationing fuel to West Coast customers. Valero spokesman Bill Day told Bloomberg News the price spike was a result of refinery issues. "Product supply in California has tightened, especially in Southern California, due to refinery outages," he said.

Phillips 66 is to conduct maintenance at two California refineries this month. A Chevron pipeline delivering crude oil to state refineries was shut down last month and Exxon is in the process of restarting a state refinery after it lost power this week.

Retail operators in the state told Bloomberg they'd shut pumps Friday because they were either out of gas or the high costs meant profit margins were too low to stay open. Bob van der Valk, an independent petroleum analyst, told Bloomberg the price spike was "a short-term problem."

Read more: California has short-term gasoline crisis - UPI.com

 

[Nova78]

Get rid of Obama and the grey cloud over this Country will lift !