Sacramento Bee Logo

Sacramento-area gas prices spike 26 cents in one week; refinery shutdowns a factor | The Sacramento Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • SacBee Rewards
    • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube
    • News in Education (NIE)
  • Newsletters

    • Sacramento Region
    • Arena
    • City Beat
    • Crime
    • Local Govt Salary Database
    • The Homeless
    • Marcos Bretón
    • Transportation
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health & Medicine
    • Traffic Conditions
    • Weather
    • Communities
    • Elk Grove
    • Folsom/El Dorado
    • Roseville/Placer
    • Yolo
    • Sports
    • Kings
    • NBA News
    • 49ers
    • Giants
    • Oakland A's
    • High School Sports
    • Joe Davidson
    • More Sports
    • Raiders
    • NFL News
    • MLB News
    • River Cats
    • Soccer
    • Colleges
    • Golf
    • Autos Racing
    • Politics
    • Capitol Alert
    • State Workers
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Local Elections
    • PoliGRAPH
    • State Worker Salary Database
    • Legislative Gifts
    • Local Elections
    • California Elections
    • Election Endorsements
    • Election 2018
    • Voter Guide
    • Investigations
    • Data Tracker
    • Public Eye
    • Afghan Refugees
    • Nursing Homes
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Election Endorsements
    • Viewpoints
    • Influencers Opinion
    • California Forum
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Submit a Letter
    • Jack Ohman
    • Editorial Board
    • Entertainment & Life
    • Arts & Theater
    • Books
    • Home & Garden
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Outdoors
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Horoscopes
    • Comics
    • Puzzles
    • TV Listings
    • Sacbee Rewards
    • Food & Drink
    • Restaurants News & Reviews
    • Restaurant Directory
    • Cooking & Recipes
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Appetizers Blog
    • California
    • Big Valley
    • Marijuana
    • Wildfires
    • Water & Drought
    • Lottery
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Market Summary
    • Cathie Anderson
    • Nation & World
    • National
    • World
    • Technology
    • Family
    • Celebrities
    • TV news
    • Weird News
    • Video Break
    • News Obituaries
    • Death Notices
    • FAQ
    • ObitMessenger
    • In Memoriam

    • The Sacramento Bee Store
    • Golf Card
    • Farm to Fork Dining Card
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Legal Notices
  • Place an Ad
  • Advertise
  • Mobile & Apps

Business & Real Estate

Sacramento-area gas prices spike 26 cents in one week; refinery shutdowns a factor

By Mark Glover

mglover@sacbee.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

April 27, 2015 11:03 AM

Just two weeks ago, the average retail price of gasoline in the Sacramento area was less than $3 a gallon, and analysts were suggesting that we might be headed for a highly unusual price plunge right up to Memorial Day weekend.

They did, however, note that things could change due to unforeseen circumstances – refinery disruptions, for example. Unfortunately for motorists, that’s precisely what happened.

Temporary shutdowns at two key California refineries last week helped drive the average retail price of gasoline in the Sacramento area up 25.9 cents to $3.23 a gallon, according to national gas price tracker GasBuddy.com.

The latest surge in gas costs surprised and upset local motorists who talked with The Bee on Monday.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

“It went up a quarter overnight I think,” said Sacramento resident Janey Tibbs, filling up her sport-utility vehicle at the Chevron station at 19th and Broadway in Sacramento, where unleaded regular was posted at $3.45 a gallon. “It always goes up. ... I just wonder how it goes up so quickly and takes forever to go down. It’s very upsetting, because it hits us in the pocketbook.”

At the 76 station at 15th and X streets, unleaded regular was going for $3.29 a gallon. As he filled his Ford Fusion, 46-year-old Mike James, a Sacramento restaurant worker, shook his head and noted: “I was paying under $3 just last week. How does it happen so fast? It’s unfair. It feels like somebody’s pulling the strings, and we pay the price.”

The region’s current price is 14.5 cents higher than it was one month ago but 87.9 cents lower than this time last year.

Allison Mac, a Los Angeles-based petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said the Chevron refinery in Richmond had to go offline for a couple days last week to deal with flaring issues. She said the Tesoro refinery in Martinez also went offline temporarily with some operational glitches.

She said both refineries are back up and running now, “but it’s not like turning a switch and you’re back to 100 percent right away. It takes awhile to come back fully.”

Mac said the state’s fuel supply, which must be blended to specific standards to meet California’s environmental requirements, is “very tight” right now.

State environmental regulations mandate that in-state refineries produce a California-specific fuel blend. So when something happens to disrupt production at a major California refinery, the ripple effect is sometimes immediate and dramatic.

“Our margin of error is so small,” Mac said.

On April 13, GasBuddy said the Sacramento area’s average retail price of gas had fallen to $2.93 a gallon, making a fifth consecutive week of declines. That streak came on the heels of a nearly $1 spike in at-the-pump costs between Feb. 1 and March 7. Analysts said the February-March surge was driven by soaring wholesale gas costs, in-state refineries switching over to pricier spring/summer gas blends and a United Steelworkers union strike idling workers at Tesoro’s California facilities in Carson and Martinez.

Mac said wholesale gas prices have ballooned amid the most recent refinery disruptions. The wholesale price in San Francisco on Monday was $2.46 a gallon, up from the $1.80 to $1.90 range just a couple weeks ago.

Barring further refinery problems, Mac said, “prices should taper off and not spike as dramatically at the end of this week.”

Nationwide, GasBuddy said, the U.S. average retail price of gas rose 8.2 cents over the past week to $2.54 a gallon, up 10.7 cents from last month and $1.16 below the year-ago level.

Call The Bee’s Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.

  Comments  

Videos

The moment Gavin Newsom put California cities on alert over housing compliance

This Gothic home in Russian Hill on market for $11 million in San Francisco

View More Video

Trending Stories

Raiders mock drafts: Focus remains on defense, except for one ‘electric’ prospect

February 17, 2019 10:50 AM

49ers mock drafts: Still between two at No. 2, but one candidate is edging the other

February 17, 2019 10:48 AM

Authorities remove cougar from tree outside California home

February 17, 2019 12:56 PM

Did Colin Kaepernick beat the NFL? Some feel that’s the case, others aren’t so sure

February 17, 2019 11:45 AM

What the NBA did to bid a fond farewell to Wade and Nowitzki at All-Star Game

February 17, 2019 09:34 PM

Read Next

Business & Real Estate

Report: Honda to shut UK plant, imperiling 3,500 jobs

The Associated Press

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 18, 2019 06:42 AM

Britain's Sky News says Honda is to close a car factory in western England with the potential loss of 3,500 jobs.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE

Shrimpers hope industry lost to warm seas won’t be forgotten

Business & Real Estate

Shrimpers hope industry lost to warm seas won’t be forgotten

February 18, 2019 06:39 AM

Business & Real Estate

411 jobs lost by abrupt closure of 90-year-old Kroger bakery

February 18, 2019 06:36 AM
Berlin to get single travel app for public, private services

Business & Real Estate

Berlin to get single travel app for public, private services

February 18, 2019 07:03 AM

Business & Real Estate

Lawmaker introduces bill to require stores to accept cash

February 18, 2019 06:21 AM
China accuses US of trying to block its tech development

Business & Real Estate

China accuses US of trying to block its tech development

February 18, 2019 06:19 AM

Business & Real Estate

Recent editorials published in Nebraska newspapers

February 18, 2019 06:01 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Sacramento Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Place a Classified Ad
  • Place a Legal Notice
  • Place a Digital Ad
  • Place a Newspaper Ad
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Corrections Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story