Gasoline prices on the rise as refineries close
Gasoline prices on the rise as refineries close
Gasoline prices are rising steadily across the United States, but a third East Coast refinery closure could set up higher prices later this year.
Texas gasoline prices are up 10 cents and Houston prices have shot up 12 cents over the last week, but analysts say those prices could steadily rise after a third refinery announced plans to close later this year.
HOVENSA announced earlier this month that it would shut down its St. Croix refinery in the Virgin Islands. Sunoco and ConocoPhillips have already announced plans to idle two refineries in the Delaware Valley.
Sunoco said it could decide to idle another refinery in the East Coast by mid-2012. The Department of Energy said those closures could “cut as much as 50 percent of current East Coast refining capacity.”
Phil Weiss, an Argus Research analyst, told The Los Angeles Times that the closures could leave U.S. motorists with little supply cushion for future mishaps or disasters. Those supplies could be further tightened if more than 30,000 refinery and chemical workers strike over a contract dispute.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/01/31/gasoline-prices-on-the-rise-as-refineries-close/
= new reply since forum marked as read
They've been a'hurtin' ever since Obama took over
Profits have plunged and this is what happens.
yup
pure coincidence, on the heels of the Keystone decision! 
Ethanol & Bio Diesel is being ran in all of todays vehicles with no conversion. Ethanol & Bio Diesel is being transported to, pumped through & sold in all of todays gas stations with no conversions. It will take major facility modifications in order to make other transportation energy sources available, not to mention transport to those facilities. Your automobile will also need major modifications to run on other energy sources.
Exempting Ethanol & Bio Diesel from some of the taxes at the pump was the cheapest & best way to reduce the price at the pump & our dependence on foreign oil other than drilling for more here at home. The ethanol tax cut reduced the taxes everyone paid at the pump since every gallon of gasoline contained at least 10% ethanol.
Congress sunset the ethanol tax cut at the end of 2011. See the sudden gas price reversal & spike since new years in the chart below. That is a direct result of higher taxes per gallon & falling ethanol competition. Gasoline prices continue to spiral as ethanol production has dropped every since this tax hike on new years day.
Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Ethanol production in the U.S. fell 0.7 percent to 934,000 barrels a day, the lowest level since Nov. 25, according to an Energy Department report.
The third consecutive weekly drop matches the longest such streak since the period ended Sept. 23. Stockpiles climbed 1.4 percent to 19.8 million barrels, the highest level since the week ended May 27, the department said in a report released today in Washington. Inventories have swelled six straight weeks, the longest streak since Jan. 21, 2011.
Wholesale Ethanol Price Chart
Wholesale Gasoline Price Chart
