Analyst: Refinery Closure to Hike Prices

Midwestern states that depend on fuel supplies from a flooded refinery in southeast Kansas will see some of the highest prices in the nation for gasoline and diesel this summer, industry experts said.

“It is really bad timing, it is bad luck. … For all intents and purposes it looks like that refinery is not going to be contributing any gasoline or diesel fuel for the rest of the summer,” said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.


Normally at this time of year, Kansas wholesale prices trade at a nickel above the Gulf Coast, but on Tuesday they were trading 25 to 30 cents above Gulf Coast prices, Kloza said.

Although the Coffeyville refinery contributes less than 1 percent of the nation’s gasoline production, it represents a healthy chunk of Great Plains production, Kloza said.

AP