Press Release
Sacramento, CA — Consumer Watchdog told a state panel looking into gasoline price manipulation today that a handful of big oil refiners have been able to charge California drivers 70 cents to $1 more per gallon than the rest of America because they have an information advantage over the rest of the market, the public and regulators.
Press Release
Santa Monica, CA – ExxonMobil’s sale today of its Torrance Refinery may allow it to escape the state, but not culpability for the February 18 explosion or its subsequent coverups over its causes. That explosion injured four workers and endangered the community, and touched off a price spike that cost Californians $6 billion more for their gasoline than they would have paid otherwise.
Press Release
Consumer Watchdog Calls For Increased Oil Reserves
Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog today reiterated calls for an increase in the state’s oil reserves as Los Angeles gas prices jumped $1.03 cents in the last month, the highest in the state, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report website. Los Angeles prices at the pump for regular gas have reached $3.53 per gallon, a dollar and nine cents, or 45% higher than the national average of $2.44 per gallon.
Press Release
Santa Monica, CA—California refinery shutdowns and slowdowns are boosting refinery profit margins by as much as 72 percent, according to a key indicator called “crack spreads,” Consumer Watchdog said today.
Press Release
Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog said today that the retail price per gallon of gas in California has soared 53 cents between February 2, when Tesoro began shutting down its refinery in Martinez, through today. A regular gallon of California gasoline now costs an average of $2.96 a gallon.
Press Release
Santa Monica, CA — Consumer Watchdog said today that the spot price of gas leapt a dime overnight, as the group had predicted in the wake of two refinery shutdowns affecting 16 percent of the state’s refining capacity.
Smoking Gun
Today’s explosion at the Torrance refinery couldn’t come at a better time—for refiners interested in driving up the price of gas.
That’s why we are calling for the California Attorney General, Governor, and lawmakers to step in. We want the Attorney General to send in some boots on the ground to rule out any price manipulation by Tesoro when it shut down its Martinez refinery. We also want to know what first caused Exxon to tell one observer that its Torrance refinery would be offline for two weeks due to a mechanical problem, and then what caused an explosion at the refinery today.
