This story @ Why gas prices are rising as oil falls to 6-year lows - MarketWatch gives one reason while this one @ Da Tech Guy Blog Blog Archive How to spike gas prices even while oil prices fall says:
The root causes of both spikes are the same – a lack of new refineries and boutique reformulated gasoline. In suburban Chicago, the largest refinery in the region, and one of only two that produce the RFG that is specific to the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, is effectively shut down for at least a month by BP because of a leak in the the main crude unit. In California, a combination of a refinery fire, a strike at a second refinery, and California’s very-special environmental rules kept the price of gasoline extraordinarily high.
So what that refinery output has increased? All it takes is a problem with just ONE of the existing plants and prices go up everywhere. Instead of having a few big ones, why not have more small ones?
Won't happen thanks to the EPA and other government agencies!
The root causes of both spikes are the same – a lack of new refineries and boutique reformulated gasoline. In suburban Chicago, the largest refinery in the region, and one of only two that produce the RFG that is specific to the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, is effectively shut down for at least a month by BP because of a leak in the the main crude unit. In California, a combination of a refinery fire, a strike at a second refinery, and California’s very-special environmental rules kept the price of gasoline extraordinarily high.
So what that refinery output has increased? All it takes is a problem with just ONE of the existing plants and prices go up everywhere. Instead of having a few big ones, why not have more small ones?
Won't happen thanks to the EPA and other government agencies!