http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/23/investing/oil-prices/index.htm?hpt=hp_t3

Where's Ron Wyden when you need him? Oh, right, New York.

For God's sake it has to do with the Cherry Point refinery fire in February (still not reopened) and several other refinery shutdowns for maintenance. Gasoline is in short supply in the NW. It's supply and demand, not a conspiracy. Once they reopen, prices will fall to about $3.50.

gas is already 3.50ish just about everywhere else. Someone remind me why Oregon has no refineries?

This never would have happened if we'd gone ahead with the Keystone Pipeline.

This is the price we pay for not building refining capacity. And for restricting drilling.

Just wait till we pay the full price for green electricity. (5x our current electric bill?)

Thanks
JK

Dont forget to add in the cost of regulation. We recently changed from Oxygenated (up to 10% alcohol) gas to non-oxygenated gas.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-consumption/summer-fuel.htm

Southern Oregon starts earlier than Portland area. K Falls seems to be exempt.

Lots of regions in the US change to different fuels at slightly different times. Tell me that is all the fault of the refiners and that the cost doesn't find its way to my Arco station.

Google this phrase for just a taste:
EPA420-R-07-004

Robert -- thanks. Cherry Point: Third largest refinery on west coast and most fuel for Sea-Tac and PDX

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/BP-restarting-Cherry-Point-refinery-after-fire-151729565.html

Ron Wyden has to do with gas prices as much as . . .wait for it . . .
Michelle Obama! And who the h--- is this guy, DeHann?

RE: Someone remind me why Oregon has no refineries?

That's an easy one!

Once we finish the liquid natural gas terminal up near Astoria, I'm sure that is the next project that will move forward...

Every Oregonian wants to build a fossil fuel facility to serve not only the West Coast, but Asia markets as well.

/sarcasm off

Saw this coming for sure when the oily industry lowered diesel prices last week (after a prolonged exploitation designed to push truckers of all stripes to "blame Obama"). Remember: corporate tails wave jackasses in the U.S.A.

This never would have happened if we'd gone ahead with the Keystone Pipeline.

Couldn't tell if your sarcastic mode was on or not, Roger, but this explains why gas would actually cost more in the U.S. with the Keystone Pipeline on line:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/05/22/report-keystone-xl-gas-prices_n_1536227.html

The oil companies know that the refinery bottle-neck is where the action is. It doesn't really matter too much about price or supply when you control the spigot.

They have been doing this game for years and the whole "peak oil" theory is part of the plan to keep profits high.

Just recently a huge pile of oil and gas has been discovered off the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean sea, so you can forget about political stability in that part of the world anytime soon.

ConcordBridge, thanks for bringing up the legally mandated blends. Every state government does their own thing, and we end up with a crazy-quilt of formulas and seasons that create a logistical nightmare, and lead to frequent scarcity.

If there were relatively few blends, the commonality would smooth out the worst of the price bumps. That would still fluctuate of course, but not like the regional anomaly we're seeing now.

Governments (at all levels) are terrible at the science and economics of energy. Remember the MTBE scandal in California? They'll be cleaning that mess up (literally and figuratively) for decades.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE#Legislation_and_litigation_in_the_U.S.

They told you that you had to use it, then it leaked everywhere, then they banned it, and you're stuck with the cleanup bill. The great minds that selected this wonder molecule are still in charge of policy.

In the end, MTBE resulted in more gasoline being burned. Ethanol isn't toxic, but it perturbs food prices (arguably more evil), and it also results in drastically lower efficiency, and thus more pollution released.

These CARB-like organizations have proven over and over that they can't be trusted to make big decisions about what you're allowed to use. It was very important to get lead out of the fuel, but they had to keep meddling to justify their existence.

Meanwhile, new cars are more efficient and clean (regardless of the exact fuel blend), and people drive fewer miles for many reasons (including fuel prices). Dozens of different blends are just counterproductive meddling.

Do refineries and oil companies profit indirectly from the meddling? Yes, of course. Just note that the regulatory maze is not wholly of their making.