We need to stop importing gasoline, oil prices lol. The biggest reason our gas prices are higher and will go higher is because of the cost to import gasoline. We used to NEVER import gasoline, only raw crude. That changed during the Bush Administration and it's because hippies fight tooth and nail to shut down any sort of energy production, ie refineries, which are very much needed for jobs, keeping energy costs down, etc. I believe there's a new refinery springing up in South or North Dakota. Like the first one in 20+ years.
You're wrong about that. When Shell tried to close their Bakersfield refinery in 2004, hippies, that is Democratic politicians, fought that and were able to keep it open.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-01-...-refinery-california-s-gasoline-prices-diesel
A Utah company that runs trucks stops has agreed to buy Shell Oil Co. 's Bakersfield refinery, which the international petroleum giant had threatened to close last year.
Flying J Inc. of Ogden, Utah, has signed an agreement with Shell to buy the 73-year-old refinery in the next three months pending the approval of federal regulators, the two companies said Monday.
The agreement caps more than a year of public pressure on Shell to find a buyer. Shell initially planned to close the plant last fall, saying it no longer made sense to operate a refinery in an area of declining crude oil production
Consumer advocates, however, saw the proposed closure as a way to pump up California's gasoline prices, already among the highest in the country.
Both California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and the Federal Trade Commission began investigations. Shell then postponed the closure and hunted for a buyer.
Although the Bakersfield refinery produces just 2 percent of the state's gasoline and 6 percent of its diesel, California already has to import much of its specially formulated fuel from out of state. Any drop in supply can drive up the price.
Losing 1 or 2 percent can push you over the edge, and prices go up," said Severin Borenstein, director of the University of California's Energy Institute. "If they're going to continue to produce gasoline and diesel, I think this is a net winner for California consumers."
Lockyer welcomed the sale agreement Monday.
"Our first goal was to keep it running and maintain that 2 percent gas, 6 percent diesel that's so important to California farmers and drivers and truckers," he said.
The refinery produces about 20,000 barrels of reformulated gasoline each day, as well as 15,000 barrels per day of diesel. Flying J Senior Vice President Jeff Utley said his company hasn't decided whether to keep that same proportion of fuels but wants to increase the refinery's overall output.
"We're still working on it, but we certainly intend to increase both the gasoline production and diesel production," he said.
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/new...refinery-shell-oil-trying-shut-down-our-plant
Consumer Group Calls on Sen. Boxer, California Officials To Investigate at Facility Shell Previously Tried to Shut Down; Warns Gas Prices Could Spike
(Santa Monica, CA)Consumer Watchdog called for an investigation of a possible attempt by Shell Oil to shut down a Bakersfield refinery that is crucial to California's supply of diesel and gasoline, in a letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, California Attorney General Jerry Brown and Treasurer Bill Lockyer. Shell appears to be "unilaterally shutting down pipelines to the refinery," the group writes, which would lead to higher pump prices, particularly in the West.
Leaders of the United Steel Workers local at the Big West refinery, owned by truckstop operator Flying J, charged Shell with "trying to shut down our plant" by shutting off pipelines and demanding payment 30 days in advance. The union memo to members said Shell had refused an offer of eight days' advance payment.
(read a pdf of the memo at
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/BigWestUpdate.pdf ). The refinery's parent company, Flying J, filed for bankruptcy in December, but continues to operate its business.
"This appears to be blatant attempt by Shell to shut down the refinery, which it tried and failed to do in 2005 when it owned the plant," said Jamie Court, president of the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, which helped prevent the closure. "Shell aimed then to raise pump prices by restricting refinery output in California, and closing the Bakersfield refinery would have the same result now."
In its letter to California officials, Consumer Watchdog wrote:
"We write to warn you of the alarming possibility that the Big West refinery in Bakersfield, which supplies 6% of diesel fuel and 2% of gasoline in California, may shut down for good. We urge you to launch an immediate investigation into whether Shell and possibly others are trying to artificially short the gasoline market and raise prices by refusing to make crude available to Big West, unilaterally shutting down pipelines to the refinery.
"As you know, the refinery's owner, Flying J, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is still operating its truck stops and a refinery in Utah. Big West, in Bakersfield, is largely not operating and shows no sign of emerging from a '10-day maintenance shutdown' that the company announced Dec. 30.
"You will recall that your offices and ours prevented Shell Oil from shuttering this medium-sized refinery (68,000 barrels a day capacity) in 2005. You helped prove that, unlike Shells assertions, the plant was profitable and that a ready supply of crude petroleum was available to it. Internal Shell Oil documents showed the company publicly misrepresented the conditions at the refinery in what appeared to be an effort to reduce Californias already anemic refining capacity and spike fuel prices."
Efforts by Boxer and Lockyer in 2005 ultimately pressured Shell into selling the refinery to Flying J, whose plans to upgrade and expand the refinery were approved shortly before the companys declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 22. The company has continued to operate its truck stop network and another refinery in Utah, its corporate headquarters, without interruption since the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sto...ts-statement-about-bakersfield-calif-refinery
The president of Shell Oil Co. has retracted a statement he made to Senate committees last month, saying the company in fact did not seek buyers before deciding to close its Bakersfield refinery.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has alleged Shell's attempt to close the Bakersfield refinery was part of a concerted effort to reduce the state's gasoline supply.
Boxer has asked the Senate's Commerce Committee to bring back key oil executives, including Shell president John Hofmeister, to testify under oath.
They knew by keeping this refinery closed they would have been able to charge a dime more a gallon," said Jamie Court of The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. "This is a case study on what actually happens in the oil industry every day."
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