Dr. Conca reports that when he filled up my hybrid gasoline tank last week, the pump price had jumped 30 cents from my last fill-up. He said to himself that something is going on. Gasoline prices do not just move up and down on a whim. So when I found out about the refinery woes going on across the country, I was not surprised.
A devastating explosion destroyed much of Exxon Mobil Torrance refinery in California two weeks ago and severely cut into the American ability to make gasoline. Residents for miles around had to cope with ash, gaseous fumes and really unhealthy air quality. Add striking workers at nine other U.S. refineries to this explosive shutdown, and almost a fifth of American refinery output is in jeopardy because of continuing safety issues.
Petroleum refineries are the little-appreciated bottleneck in oil path from the well to the pump. Gasoline has to be refined from crude oil and the United States has no spare oil refinery capacity. Whenever one of our refineries goes down, gasoline prices spike. Just like they did after the Chevron Richmond Refinery fire in 2012. And the Chevron Richmond Refinery fire in 1999. And the Chevron Richmond Refinery fire in 1989.
This has become a major problem over the last 20 years and we are still ignoring it.
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