Southern California motorists are grappling with spiking gas prices yet again as a result of tight inventories and ongoing problems at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance.
The latest increases have boosted prices to $5 a gallon or more at some stations. And it begs the question — how much more can consumers take?
A report released last week from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that the West Coast gasoline inventory fell by more than 1 million barrels while fuel imports in the region dropped to zero for the first time since March.
Part of the blame has been directed at two South Bay refineries that have curtailed production of gasoline. The ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance remains offline because of an explosion in February and the Tesoro refinery in Carson has been at least partly offline for its annual maintenance, said Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California.
View Article