Flashback On California Refinery Fire And Impact On Price Of Gasoline In California -- July 22, 2015

Remember this post on the refinery issue in Torrance, California, and the high prices Californians are paying for gasoline? It was posted yesterday, July 21, 2015. This is one of the reasons:

In large part because an Exxon Mobil Corp. refinery in Torrance has been out of commission since an explosion there in February, and the state’s environmental regulations are hampering the company’s efforts to quickly get it back to full production.

The refinery is now operating at under 20 percent of its potential, mostly because the explosion damaged its two pollution control units, according to Mohsen Nazemi, the deputy executive officer for engineering and compliance of California’s Sourth Coast Air Quality Management District.

Back on August 11, 2012, almost three years ago, I wrote:

That explains why loss of Libya's oil had no appreciable effect on world markets, and current Iranian embargo: effects? Nada. Zip. Zilch. A Richmond, California, refinery fire that was put out in minutes will have a greater effect on price of gasoline in California than geopolitical events to date in the Mideast. 

Exactly right.

And, of course, there are the really uninformed. Something called "wn.com"  reports that some folks in California appear not to understand the relationship between refineries, how gasoline is "made," and how prices are determined (Economics101, supply and demand):

California oil refineries use 94 million gallons of water a day and nobody is stopping them.

I don't know about that. The state refused to allow XOM to bring its Torrance refinery back up to full capacity while repairing two pollution units; the refinery is operating at 20% capacity. Certainly sounds like someone is trying to stop refinery operations in California.

From golfdigest.com:

The part of the Coachella Valley often referred to as the Palm Springs area, east of Los Angeles, is carpeted in green, 124 irrigated golf courses, many with lakes, in an otherwise parched landscape.

It is said to be the greatest concentration of golf courses in the world, situated in a desert, in a state besieged by what the National Weather Service describes as an exceptional drought, now in its third year.

Based on the average amount of water used to irrigate golf courses, this works out to 40 million gallons of water to irrigate just the 124 wells around Palm Springs, CA.