SOUTH BAY GAS PRICES RISE

OIL INDUSTRY SPOKEMAN CITES SEVERAL FACTORS 


The summer driving season is over, so aren't gas prices supposed to drop?  That's the question The Bugle posed to a local oil industry representative.  Marcus Danderlog, 62, an industry veteran, told The Bugle in a recent interview that there are numerous reasons behind the recent spike in gasoline prices.


"First, we're in the process of changing from the summer blend to the winter blend, which requires a lot of blending.  Plus mixing.  Mixing and blending.  I think they even have to hand-stir it with a big boat oar.  The winter blend also has more wintry kind of stuff in it, which costs a lot more but is worth it.  I mean, you don't want a big chunk of icegas in your tank, do you?  Also, five or six people in the South Bay who were laid off found new jobs in the past few months, so they're driving more and that affects supply.  In addition, we hate to do it, but we typically have to do maintenance on all the refineries at the same time for some reason, so there's another supply issue.  And, oh yeah, one time there was a fire at a refinery."  


Danderlog predicts that prices will remain high until they go down again.