California drivers may want to brace for a painful summer at the pump after GasBuddy warned the Golden State could be headed for one of its most unpredictable fuel seasons in years.
Patrick De Haan, an analyst with the popular gas-price tracking app, said California is facing what could be “potentially one of the most volatile summers for gasoline prices” as global tensions and local supply concerns collide.
“The situation that we find ourselves in is completely unpredictable,” De Haan said during an interview with KCRA. Haan pointed to on-again, off-again negotiations involving Iran and concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz — a key global oil shipping route.
The warning comes as officials in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration acknowledged this week that gas prices were already climbing before the conflict involving Iran intensified.
Earlier this week, California Energy Commission Vice Chair Siva Gunda told lawmakers that the state has enough oil and gasoline supply to meet demand for at least the next 7 to 8 weeks. Beyond that, he said, there is uncertainty over where prices could head.
Gunda also said that if fuel shortages were to emerge nationwide, overseas suppliers would likely continue sending fuel to California because motorists here are willing to pay higher prices.
De Haan agreed. But even if the conflict overseas ends, Californians may not see immediate relief.
“California’s game has changed with the shutdown of these two refineries over the last year. It’s still a new era for California that it’s going to be beholden to countries as far away as Asia for supplies to meet demand. That is going to be a struggle moving forward,” De Haan said.
The Newsom administration argued this week that oil companies are making larger profits from California drivers and the conflict involving Iran.
De Haan pointed instead to California’s environmental policies and the refinery shutdowns that have reshaped the state’s fuel market.
“California has created now a closed loop system where the remaining amount of refiners are more profitable,” he said.
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