Auto Club: Gas Prices Jump After Refinery Issues

A fire at one local refinery and planned maintenance at another pushed up Southern California gas prices in the last few days, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail statewide average is $3.39 a gallon for regular unleaded, which is six cents higher than last week.
 
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.44 per gallon, which is seven cents higher than last week, nine cents higher than last month, and eight cents lower than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $3.39, which is up five cents from last Thursday, nine cents higher than last month, and eight cents lower than this time last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.45, which is five cents higher than last week, nine cents higher than last month, and six cents lower than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $3.35, which is seven cents higher than last week, ten cents higher than last month, and seven cents lower than last year. In San Bernardino, the $3.36 average price is five cents higher than last week, seven cents higher than last month, and seven cents lower than a year ago today.

“A fire on Friday night shut down part of the Phillips 66 Carson refinery and some planned maintenance at the Torrance Refinery also put upward pressure on prices,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Also, this morning the Chevron El Segundo refinery reported unplanned flaring due to a breakdown. While the summer blend of gasoline is currently in Southern California gas pumps and that cost already has been passed along to drivers, these issues along with higher oil prices are likely to push pump prices up even further.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on March 21, averages are: