Gov. Tells State Panel to Monitor Gas Prices
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger directed the California Energy Commission on Wednesday to monitor gas prices in the wake of BP’s pipeline problems in Alaska.
The governor also asked the federal government to make the West Coast a priority for any oil shipments from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Gasoline prices have been steady in most of the state since Sunday, when the petroleum company announced that it was shutting down about 400,000 barrels per day of production from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield on Alaska’s North Slope.
A survey by the Automobile Club on Wednesday showed that the average price for self-serve regular was $3.20 a gallon, steady with its price survey report from Monday.
Schwarzenegger’s office said the commission will do the monitoring to “ensure propriety in the transportation fuels market for Californians, who already pay among the highest gas prices in the nation.
Also, the commission “will work with California refineries to assess the potential impacts this event may have on California fuel supplies and prices.”
Last year, North Slope crude oil accounted for 20% of oil refined in California.
And BP’s pipeline yielded 10% of that total, commission figures show.
The commission is investigating whether oil companies acted fairly during a gasoline price spike earlier this year.
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