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I'm in Long Beach for the month.
$4.59/gal. yesterday. Haven't passed a gas station yet today, so don't know what it is today......
I'm in Long Beach for the month.
$4.59/gal. yesterday. Haven't passed a gas station yet today, so don't know what it is today......
I put gas in yesterday. After passing two closed stations in Torrance, I found one selling at $4.79/gal, but it's gone up 30 cents since yesterday. When the station I got gas in sells out, that's it. He's closing too. He can't afford to fill his storage tanks.
!
California Gas Stations Begin to Shut on Record-High Prices - Bloomberg
Gasoline station owners in the Los Angeles area including Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) are beginning to shut pumps because of supply shortages that have driven wholesale fuel prices to record highs.
Costcos 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, Jeff Cole, Costcos vice president of gasoline, said by telephone. The company hasnt been able to find enough unbranded summer-grade gasoline to keep its stations supplied, he said.
The gasoline shortage feels like a hurricane to me, but its the West Coast, Cole said yesterday. Were obviously extremely disheartened that we are unable to do this, and were pulling fuel from all corners of California to fix this.
Spot, or wholesale, gasoline in Los Angeles climbed 30 cents to $1.45 a gallon over gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Thats the highest level for the fuel since at least November 2007, when Bloomberg began publishing prices there. The premium has surged $1 this week. On an outright basis, the fuel jumped to $4.3396 a gallon.
This is REALLY turning into Jimmy Carter Part Two.
I'm in Long Beach for the month.
$4.59/gal. yesterday. Haven't passed a gas station yet today, so don't know what it is today......
The average retail price of gasoline rose 17 cents to $4.486 on Friday morning. The average price was $4.315 on Thursday and $4.131 a week ago, according to AAA data.
Hey, California, notice the big jump in gas prices? Forty cents a gallon, or more, in a day or two.
The problems with the heat of summer has oil refineries shutting down, and rationing supplies. Less supply is causing the prices to rise.
That is the lesson of supply and demand.
So, the opposite is also true. Add to the supply, prices go down. . . yet the Democrats say that won't work. They say we can't drill ourselves out of this.
No?
Domestic drilling would drop prices below two dollars a gallon.
Back to the present, the problems have gotten so bad that some gas stations, like Valero, have stopped selling gasoline.
California gas prices have soared, with some stations topping $5 per gallon.
Product supply in California has tightened, especially in Southern California, due to refinery outages, Bill Day, a Valero spokesman at the companys headquarters in San Antonio, said by e-mail.
The Exxon Torrance refinery lost power, and has now restored operations. Phillips 66 and Chevron have been experiencing similar refinery shutdowns.
The profit margin is so low for stations, that many of them are shutting down for the time being.
An independent industry analyst in Terry, Montana, said by e-mail yesterday, The mom- and-pop gas stations are having to close down from either not being able to obtain gasoline from their regular distributor or cannot afford the break-even price of almost $5 per gallon.
Costco is working on a plan to alert its members as gasoline runs out at the companys stores so customers dont have to guess where to go, Cole said. The company will sell whatever premium gasoline it has stored for regular gasoline prices wherever supplies run out, he said.
The price hike is a short term problem, but Californians are feeling the pain. The question is, "How long with this last?"
If it lasts much longer, families will begin shutting down, too.
The EPA has closed so many refineries that there aren't enough to make the California blends. Then there was a major fire at one of the few refineries that remain.
Gasoline Blends Are Part Of Clean Air Act Amendments Passed Under George H. W. Bush. "The increase in the number of gasoline blends dates back to the Clean Air Act Amendments signed by President Bush in 1990. As detailed in a 2006 report from the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, the states with the most pollution were required to use reformulated gasoline (RFG) in order to "reduce ozone-forming emissions and control harmful air toxics." Other states were allowed to opt-in to the RFG program or select their own "boutique" fuels as a way to meet air quality targets." [EPA, December 2006]
Bush Task Force: Boutique Fuels Provide "Significant Reduction In Targeted Emissions At Very Low Cost." The Task Force convened by the Bush administration to study boutique fuels concluded:
"It is clear that state fuel programs have provided significant, cost-effective air quality improvements. Any actions to modify the slate of existing boutique fuels or limit a state's ability to adopt fuel specifications should be done in a manner that at least maintains these air quality gains and avoids unnecessarily restricting state authority.
A critical issue for the states is that any change in the boutique fuel slate or applicable authorities must be done in a manner that air quality benefits resulting from boutique fuel programs will, at a minimum, at least be maintained. Benefits from these programs have served an important role in the states' efforts at meeting national air quality standards, and these benefits are expected to be as important to future attainment strategies. Further, while the task force received some general input from industry stakeholders with some suggesting a potential connection between boutique fuels and supply and price concerns, this input was not supported by any documentation in this process." [Task Force, June 2006]
"Reformulated Gasoline Reduces Smog, Which Contributes To Heart Problems, Asthma Attacks, And Premature Deaths. Reformulated gasoline is designed to reduce nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound emissions, which form ozone and smog when they come in contact with both heat and sunlight. According to the American Lung Association, ozone causes "increased risk of premature death," "asthma attacks," and "increased susceptibility" to heart- and lung-related problems." [American Lung Association, 2011]
CRS: Requiring One Fuel May Raise Pump Prices In Some Areas, Or Cause More Pollution In Others. A 2006 Congressional Research Service report stated:
