Fun facts:
1. Oil refineries operate, more or less, independently of the parent oil companies. Oil is bought on the open market from anyone willing to sell. A BP refinery might get their gas from a Shell-run oil well, or an independent owner, or whomever.
2. Gas station owners, usually, buy their gas from whomever is most convenient or cheapest. Their franchise agreement might include a rider on whom to buy gas from, but it isn't always the oil company itself.
3. A lot of gas stations around here get their gas from the Marathon refinery downriver, delivered by a 3rd party like Corrigan oil. That Amoco super cleaner fuel stuff you see advertised? It's just a jar of detergent the gas station owner adds to their underground tank.
4. The gas station owner sets their price based on what it's going to cost to buy the next delivery of gasoline. If production gets cut for whatever reason, they know the price is going to go up, but they don't necessarily know by how much. That's why, when the price jumps, it's $0.20 more at one station, $0.25 more at another, $0.50 at a different one. After a couple of weeks the price increase smooths out.
Bookmarks