Ford agrees to sell electric trucks to two protesting lease holders


In Oregon, California, Washington and Nevada, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded jumped to a record $2.57 per gallon last week, according to the Automobile Association of America — 30 cents to 40 cents higher than prices in other regions.

In its weekly report on gas prices issued last Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy said the record highs in the West mark the first time that a regional average topped $2.50 per gallon.

In Oregon on Friday, the price of regular unleaded gas reached a record average of $2.476 a gallon.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gasoline prices across the West have remained higher than even the record highs elsewhere in the nation, partly because of a limited regional pipeline and refinery capacity.

Abundant refineries in Texas, along the Gulf of Mexico and in the East feed a maze of pipelines and distribution centers, ensuring a steady supply of fuel to the Midwest, South and East Coast.

The East also is supplemented by tankers coming from European refineries. Combined, it means increased competition and better overall prices in that region.

There are no pipelines connecting Oregon and the West to the oil-rich Southern states, and trucking gas that far is too expensive.

Oregon also has no refineries. The state gets 70 percent of its gas from a pipeline filled to capacity by five refineries around the Puget Sound. The rest comes up the Columbia River by barge from Washington and California. A small amount gets to Eastern Oregon through a pipeline from Salt Lake City.

Other than West Coast refineries, the most convenient gasoline suppliers to the region are in Asia. California already imports 3.5 million gallons of gasoline a day from foreign ports.

When problems develop with the Washington pipeline or refineries, consumers in Oregon bear the increased expense to move gasoline via truck or barge.

If similar problems occur on the East Coast, there is less of an effect because states have greater access to other sources of gas, said Mike Burdette, a senior analyst with the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“They’ve got more alternatives to turn to when the supply gets tight,” he said.

Refineries also have to produce pollution-fighting summer and winter “boutique” blends that are brought into different areas of the U.S. market at varying times based on weather patterns. California, which has the most stringent air-pollution requirements in the United States, requires its own unique blends, which drives up the cost there.

Another major factor is demand, said Denton Cinquegrana, the markets editor for the New Jersey-based Oil Price Information Service.

Despite record-high gas prices, Americans continue to drive more without making a switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles.

“We have to point the fingers at ourselves because look at the cars we drive,” Cinquegrana said. “SUVs are the car of choice and demand remains very high. That tells us that people haven’t really changed.
They aren’t trading in SUVs for something more efficient and they’re not driving less.”

He said during the past six to eight weeks, Americans have been consuming more than 9 million barrels of gas a day, which puts the country on a record consumption pace nearly two months before the start of the peak summer driving season.

Oil and gas executives say it’s a trend that’s likely to continue unless Americans change their ways.

“Every year we see a new record in consumption,” said Frank Holmes of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade group of oil producers, refiners and marketers. “If the demand were to be reduced, the market would adjust to that.”



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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonian.com

Watch gas prices: Gaspricewatch.com


 

 


 


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