Article content
(Bloomberg) — A fire Monday at Valero’s Benicia refinery leaves only one gasoline plant still operating in the San Francisco Bay Area, putting pressure on prices ahead of peak driving season and stymieing Governor Gavin Newsom’s efforts to offer relief to Californians.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O’Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others. Daily content from Financial Times, the world’s leading global business publication. Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O’Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others. Daily content from Financial Times, the world’s leading global business publication. Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account or
Article content
Article content
Chevron’s Richmond refinery currently is the only plant in Northern California able to make up the fuel shortage after Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum converted their operations to renewable fuels — diesel and jet, but not gasoline — in recent years.
Article content
Article content
The premium for California gasoline, known as Carbob, compared to Nymex futures jumped 10 cents Tuesday in the Bay Area and in Los Angeles, according to data from General Index. On Wednesday, the Bay Area Carbob premium to Nymex rose another 12 cents to the widest since October 2023.
Article content
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Article content
There’s likely little relief ahead of Memorial Day, which marks the beginning of peak summer driving season when higher demand makes gasoline more expensive.
Article content
The state is a fuel island where outages at its few remaining refineries have an outsized effect on prices compared to more well-supplied US regions such as the Gulf Coast. Those regions have seen refining capacity grow in recent years, while on the West Coast it has shrunk. Limited pipeline infrastructure for imports also means that when a refinery goes down in California, drivers pay the cost, which already is the highest in the nation.
Article content
Still, average prices across California Wednesday were 55 cents a gallon cheaper than the same time last year and $1.65 less than the highest-ever recorded average in the state, $6.44 a gallon in 2022, according to American Automobile Association data.
Article content
Article content
That record prompted Newsom to sign a series of bills aimed at regulating the refining industry to control price spikes. The governor has since written to the state energy agency ordering it to collaborate with the industry he previously called the “polluted heart of this climate crisis.”
Article content
Benicia’s shutdown of a key gasoline making unit, the 77,000-barrel-a-day fluid catalytic cracker, follows a fire at PBF Energy’s Martinez refinery earlier this year that closed its 67,000-barrel-a-day fluid catalytic cracker.
Article content
The Benicia plant also is the latest in a string of California refiners to announce plans to convert or shutter operations. Phillips 66 is closing its Los Angeles refinery later this year.
Article content
(Updates prices in the third paragraph.)
Article content
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/san-francisco-gasoline-prices-rise-as-just-one-refinery-remains
