Governor To Decide Whether To Require Oil Refiners To Disclose Profits Per Gallon Monthly, Says Consumer Watchdog

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A bill requiring oil refiners to disclose their per gallon profits monthly is now on Governor Newsom's desk, having passed out of the California Senate with a concurrence vote of 29 to 8.  

SB 1322 (Allen) requires the oil refiners to disclose monthly their refining profits -- the difference between average cost they pay for a barrel crude oil and the average price they charge for the finished barrel of gasoline. With 42 gallons in a barrel, the public will know exactly how much oil refiners make per gallon of gas in California. 

Californians are paying $1.25 more per gallon for their gasoline than the average US driver. Environmental costs add about 60 cents per gallon.  

"California drivers have had enough. SB 1322 will bring much-needed transparency to oil companies' true costs of doing business," said the bill's author Senator Ben Allen.

"Consumers deserve to know how much oil refiners are making off their pain at the pump," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "Recent quarterly profit reports suggest California oil refiners are pocketing more than $1 per gallon off the recent price spikes at the pump. That's unconscionable."

Refining margins are typical industry measures. Investor reports show California's refiners' Western region profit margins are through the roof. West Coast profits per gallon for Marathon topped an unprecedented $1 per gallon, as opposed to 34 cents in the second quarter of 2021. Valero, PBF and Phillips reported profits of 83 cents, 82 cents, and 79 cents per gallon (as opposed to 27 cents, 15 cents and 8 cents per gallon in second quarter last year). Chevron does not report quarterly refining margins. Read more about the investor reports.

SB 1322 is supported by the California Attorney General, CALPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group), Greenpeace USA, Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, SoCal 350 Climate Action, San Diego 350 Climate Action, Friends of the Earth US, Stand.earth, Sunflower Alliance, FracTracker Alliance
Food & Water Watch, Public Watchdogs and California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice.

"With this real time information, lawmakers, regulators, and the public will be able to pinpoint periods of price gouging and respond to it," said Court.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog