California gas prices surge 40 cents in just 2 weeks as impact of refinery closures weighs
Valero’s Benicia refinery wind-down and Phillips 66’s Los Angeles closure leave state with just 6 operating refineries
Gas prices have surged in California in recent weeks as the state’s supply is constrained due to recent reductions in refining capacity.
The price of gas rose 40 cents in about two weeks, with the average price of gas across the state of California at $4.58 a gallon – an increase from $4.46 the prior week and $4.18 two weeks before that, according to data from AAA.
Those figures are well above the national average of $2.92 a gallon. California’s gas prices are the highest of all states, topping $4.37 a gallon in Hawaii, $4.15 a gallon in Washington and $3.68 a gallon in Oregon.
Rising gas prices in California come amid a reduction in oil refining capacity due to the wind down of operations at Valero’s refinery in Benicia, as well as the previous closure of the Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles.
