County gas prices spike 40 cents in a month

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose 3.8 cents today to $3.662, its highest amount since Nov. 10, one day after increasing 2.7 cents.

The recent sharp increases are the result of “two additional refinery incidents that have added to the supply issues,” unplanned flaring at Marathon Petroleum’s Carson refinery and the Valero Wilmington Refinery, “indicating some type of breakdown,” Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California told City News Service.

“That alone would put upward pressure on prices, but in addition, there are a few refinery issues in Northern California and some planned maintenance in Washington state, which also makes some of California’s supply when demand is high,” Montgomery said. “It’s uncertain how long this situation will last but for now, expect additional gas price increases.”

The average price has risen 19 consecutive days and 24 of the past 25, increasing 39.4 cents, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 11.8 cents more than one week ago, 40.3 cents higher than one month ago and 16.6 cents greater than one year ago.

The increases began in mid-March with a fire at the Phillips 66 refinery in Carson that shut down one unit, some planned flaring at the PBF Torrance refinery and some unplanned flaring up at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, Montgomery said.