Oil Watchdog

Santa Monica, CA — California has broken all records for the biggest gap between what consumers here have paid so far versus the rest of the nation for gas at the pump, Consumer Watchdog said today. Californians paid $1.2 billion more, after tax differentials, than the rest of the nation in the month of July, a record, and $4.8 billion more for their gasoline over the last six months ending July 31st, since gas price spikes started. That amounts to $201 extra dollars paid by each California driver.

Santa Monica, CA — Newly posted data from California oil refiners shows that record price spikes at the pump have translated to a record high return to the oil companies of $1.17 per gallon in May of 2015. The average amount that a refiner receives for a gallon of gasoline has been just 46 cents since 1999, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC), but recently updated data on the CEC website shows that in May refiners took home more per gallon than ever before. Consumer Watchdog had urged the CEC to update the data, which had not been posted since August.

At a meeting of the state commission charged with investigating gas price manipulation, Consumer Watchdog delivered an analysis showing that since the end of May California’s largest oil refiners have engaged in unprecedented price manipulation to keep California gasoline prices artificially high using their leverage of over prices at their branded stations.

Santa Monica, CA — On a call with investors today, Gregory Goff, the CEO of Tesoro admitted refinery shutdowns and “disruptions” led to big profits on the oil company’s bottom line in the first quarter. Tesoro’s profit per barrel in the first quarter jumped by 20 cents, amounting to California profits of $119 million in the first quarter for the company.

Refiners Remain Silent Because Law Does Not Require them to Disclose Information

Santa Monica, CA—The price of a gallon of regular gas in California spiked up another 40 cents this week and now stands at $3.59 a gallon at the pump due to fresh problems refineries have tried to conceal, Consumer Watchdog said today. Californians are now paying exactly a dollar more than the US average.

Santa Monica, CA — California drivers paid $1 billion extra at the pump in March, when compared to the national average gas price charged to U.S. drivers, according to an analysis of the latest government data by Consumer Watchdog. The nonprofit consumer group said refiners continued to reap a windfall in the wake of refinery […]