Tesoro & Valero Report Best 3rd Quarter Ever For California Refining On Record Gasoline Price Spike, Says Consumer Watchdog

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Oct 29, 2015, 02:28 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The two California refiners that break out California-specific profits reported their most lucrative California quarters ever. Tesoro's & Valero's quarterly reports for July through September help explain why Californians have paid a dollar per gallon over the US average during 2015, Consumer Watchdog said today. The company more than tripled its per barrel profits.

"Tesoro's and Valero's outsized profits show just how broken the state's gasoline market is," said Cody Rosenfield, Consumer Watchdog researcher. "Instead of passing on a dramatic drop in the price of crude oil, California oil refiners pocketed the cash and imposed extreme and unreasonable pain at the pump for consumers."

Analysis of Tesoro's 3^rd quarter financial results show that California's second largest oil refiner had its best quarter ever in the state. According to Consumer Watchdog's analysis of data provided by Tesoro, the company made $770 million in the 3^rd quarter in California. The number is twice what they made in the same quarter last year, and over four times more than their average quarterly California profit since 2005 of $169 million.

Analysis shows that Tesoro also made a near record $16.03 per barrel profits in California. The company made just $6.75 in the same quarter of 2014. Over the last ten years their average per barrel profit has been $5.24.

Valero reported similarly shocking profits:

Valero made $342 million on California refining in the 3^rd Quarter of 2015. That is 14 times more than the same quarter last year, when they made $24 million.
Valero made $13.54 per barrel of crude oil it refined in the 3^rd quarter. That is 11 times more per barrel than they made in the same quarter last year: $1.16 per barrel.

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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog