US West Coast spot gasoline premiums widen on Shell refinery outage
5/9/2013 12:00:00 AM
By ROSE MARTON-VITALE
Spot gasoline pricing premiums moved up sharply in West Coast refined products markets as another regional refinery experiences production problems.
Shell reported a unit shutdown at its San Francisco area refinery in Martinez, after discovering a valve leak.
In its filing to the Contra Costa Hazardous Materials Program, Shell said the event didn't result in flaring, but leaked "pitch-like material."
Pitch is derived from refinery coker units or other cracking processes like a fluid catalytic cracking unit, or FCCU, which is a key gasoline producing unit.
Traders in the region heard Shell had shut the Martinez Refinery's delayed coker unit, but Shell declined to comment.
Several West Coast based traders said Carbob in San Francisco for May delivery wasn't in play and no value assessment was made.
Dow Jones Newswires
Comments