HOUSTON, March 3 (Reuters) – California gasoline’s
differential finished unchanged in the Los Angeles wholesale
market as the completion of work at two West Coast refineries
balanced the impact of a third refinery’s malfunction, traders
said.
March-delivery CARBOB gasoline finished at a 4-cent discount
to April NYMEX RBOB in L.A., even with Friday’s finish.
Tesoro Corp. said on Monday that it completed
planned work at its 363,000 barrel per day (bpd) Los Angeles
refinery and was returning its 166,000 bpd Martinez, California
refinery to normal operation.
Valero Energy Corp.’s 78,000 barrel per day (bpd)
Wilmington, California refinery reported a breakdown on Sunday
to California pollution regulators. A company spokesman on
Monday declined to provide further information about the upset.
March CARBOB in the San Francisco Bay market rose 1 cent to
4.5 cents a gallon under April NYMEX RBOB gasoline.
CARBOB gasoline is mandated by the California Air Resources
Board (CARB) for use in the state and meets more stringent
anti-pollution standards than the gasoline required by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in most of the country. CARBOB
is made to blend with ethanol.
EPA gasoline in the Portland, Oregon market was steady at 13
cents a gallon under April NYMEX gasoline.
As with gasoline, CARB also requires a state-specific,
ultra-low-sulfur diesel with a more stringent formula than EPA
diesel.
L.A. March CARB diesel rose 0.5 cent a gallon to 4.5 cents a
gallon under April NYMEX heating oil.
Bay March CARB diesel gained 2.5 cents to 1.5 cents a gallon
under April NYMEX heating oil.
EPA diesel in the Portland market climbed 2.5 cents to a
half-cent discount under April NYMEX heating oil.
Jet fuel in L.A. dipped 1 cent a gallon at 13 cents a gallon
under April NYMEX heating oil.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Richard Pullin)
