Report: Bay Area Refineries Faked Outages, Spiked Gasoline Prices

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eport: Bay Area Refineries Faked Outages, SpikedGasoline Prices

Bay Area refinerieslied about being out of production in May and October, according to a report.


By Chris Roberts

| Thursday, Nov 15, 2012

Bay Area oilrefineries in Richmond and Martinez are to blame for the spike in gasolineprices in May and October, according to a report released in Washington onThursday.


Both Royal DutchShell in Martinez and Chevron in Richmond claimed to be out of service duringperiods in May and October. Gas prices spiked accordingly. But environmentalresearch reveals both refineries were producing gasoline at full capacity,contrary to what the public was told, according to McClatchy newspapers.

Environmentaldocuments reveal nitrogen oxide emissions -- evidence of gasoline production --were normal during both periods, the newspaper chain reported.



Gasoline inventorieswere building during "a time in which West Coast motorists" werepaying "at least 50 cents more per gallon than the national average,"the newspaper reported.

Report: Bay Area Refineries Faked Outages, Spiked Gasoline Prices | NBC Bay Area

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How do they loot your wealth? They cut the supply to raise the price while inventories were building.

A company doing something highly unethical to turn a profit? Shocking I tell ya!

So left coast liberals had to pay more for gas. Isnt that the idea?

I hope people end up going to jail if this turns out to be true.

this kind of **** goes on all the time with other products as well. Look at the price of rolling papers. Bugler papers cost more than tabacco. I remember when they were five cents a pack now they are two dollars a pack.

LiberalAvenger said:

this kind of **** goes on all the time with other products as well. Look at the price of rolling papers. Bugler papers cost more than tabacco. I remember when they were five cents a pack now they are two dollars a pack.

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You do know thats because the government now classify them as a tobacco product and tax them accordingly?
Want to blame someone for that particular item, blame government.

I'm really, really, skeptical of this. I'd be stunned if they idled their refinery in pursuit of some nefarious and very temporary price lift to the crude basket, and more pointedly to one localized market. There is little reason for them to do this and so many reasons why not to. Their explanation:

"Kayla Macke, a Shell spokeswoman, said the McCullough report was “in error” and had confused a company statement that a unit at the Martinez refinery was shut down, when the rest of the refinery had continued to operate.

“Our goal is always to run as much as we can as safely as we can,” Macke said.

Chevron Corp.'s Richmond refinery in the Bay Area is California's second-biggest producer of gasoline and diesel."

At present I'm willing to accept that. Miscommunication and misunderstanding seems more likely than conspiracy.

Consumer advocates say refineries may have falsified information - latimes.com

OpportunityCost said:

You do know thats because the government now classify them as a tobacco product and tax them accordingly?
Want to blame someone for that particular item, blame government.

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Thanks I did not know that. ****ing government!

Sherman123 said:

I'm really, really, skeptical of this. I'd be stunned if they idled their refinery in pursuit of some nefarious and very temporary price lift to the crude basket, and more pointedly to one localized market. There is little reason for them to do this and so many reasons why not to. Their explanation:

"Kayla Macke, a Shell spokeswoman, said the McCullough report was “in error” and had confused a company statement that a unit at the Martinez refinery was shut down, when the rest of the refinery had continued to operate.

“Our goal is always to run as much as we can as safely as we can,” Macke said.

Chevron Corp.'s Richmond refinery in the Bay Area is California's second-biggest producer of gasoline and diesel."

At present I'm willing to accept that. Miscommunication and misunderstanding seems more likely than conspiracy.

Consumer advocates say refineries may have falsified information - latimes.com

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There is a lot of "miscommunication and misunderstanding" going on then. This is hardly the only example of supposed comments from companies or influential people, rumors, un-specified sources and so on that have massive impact on markets. Add to that out right speculation and you have one hell of a volitile market.. we have seen it in Europe, we have seen it in the commodities markets and even for individual companies.

Sherman123 said:

Their explanation:

"Kayla Macke, a Shell spokeswoman, said the McCullough report was “in error” and had confused a company statement that a unit at the Martinez refinery was shut down, when the rest of the refinery had continued to operate.

“Our goal is always to run as much as we can as safely as we can,” Macke said.

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Yes, not only was the refinary not closed (so no surprise there was still emissions), but also closing of the unit was a safety measure, & wasnt responsible for the price spike, so the whole "story" is flawed.

I also noted in many reports that McCullough is a "bedroom activist" & not an expert in the field, working remotely with no original data.

It appears this is only getting minor coverage because its been highjacked to push unrelated political matters.

Sherman123 said:

There is little reason for them to do this and so many reasons why not to.
Consumer advocates say refineries may have falsified information - latimes.com

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Not much people know why. But this news proves what I alleged is very correct. Here is what I wrote last month about the price spike of the gas in California.

741. Why the gas price jump high (10/15/2012)

On Oct 10, I revealed that the Feds have arranged a Hawaii trip for my family members. That’s a tactic they used to use when they planned a framed case. That night, my wife said she would take a tour to Thailand between Oct.19 to Oct. 25. It was a swift response to my revelation. They are showing off their power that they can order a trip any time they want on anybody.

To coordinate this October framed case, you also saw an unusual sudden rising price of gasoline in California, especially in Bay Area. A gas station owner complained that the gas price going up $1.00 just in five days.

California Refiners Ration Gasoline as Prices Near Record
By Lynn Doan – Friday, Oct 5, 2012

“We’re really sort of shell-shocked,” said Tom Robinson, president of Santa Clara, California-based Robinson Oil Corp., which operates 34 Rotten Robbie convenience stores. “If you’ve been in California long enough, you know how volatile our market can be. But to see prices go up $1 a gallon since Monday -- I’ve never seen that before.”

California Refiners Ration Gasoline Prices Near Record | First Enercast Financial

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Calif. gas prices equal all-time high
By GILLIAN FLACCUS | Associated Press, 10/6/2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Saturday's price, the highest in the nation, equaled the record average high for California set in June 2008 of $4.61.

Calif. gas prices equal all-time high - Yahoo! News

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Be noticed that the sudden rising gas price started in first days of October. It matches well to the Feds October plot. Why? Because the Feds have collected so many real estate properties in my case in two decades. They want to keep the price good once they finish the case and pass these houses to the ordinary people. The houses mainly are located in San Francisco and San Jose where my family members and I live. The Feds managed to keep the price high there.

But the economy is actually still weak despite the lavish praise of the media. The housing market in nearby area is still low. The average price of house in Sacramento and Stockton is about half to the Bay Area. These cities are about one to two hour drive to San Francisco. To prevent the potential buyer to buy house there, the Feds pushed up the gas price.

Hatuey said:

A company doing something highly unethical to turn a profit? Shocking I tell ya!

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Honest question: who in this entire forum didn't see this right off?

Zalatix said:

Originally Posted by Hatuey

A company doing something highly unethical to turn a profit? Shocking I tell ya!

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It's not a company but two giant firms with brand name - Shell and Chevron. So it's not the company practice but a plot done by the Feds. Only the Feds could co-ordinate big firms.

I'm wondering if they define "Outage" as not producing the the blend required at the time. May and October. These are the months that CA requires the refineries to shift their blends from Winter to Summer and Summer to Winter.

katsung47 said:

R

How do they loot your wealth? They cut the supply to raise the price while inventories were building.

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Could be just another conspiracy theory, too.