What are you paying for 93 octane now? [⚠️ ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS ⚠️]

[LCK22GT]

Shell premium has been about a buck more than regular for a lot longer than ten years now. Closer to 20 according to my wallet.

I think you need to add an extra ten or twenty years to get back to when it was 50c difference.

Time flies when you get to this age, but it sure seems like just in recent years premium has become much more of a premium.

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[ihasnostang]

refineries in california are closing down?

 

[Pistol_91]

I'm surprised you are so comfortable and confident in that opinion rather than just considering you might not remember. I don't pay much attention to gas prices. I think my biggest source of fun depends on fuel, so for me the price is worth it.

I looked it up rather than relying on memory.

I have never paid 4.50 dollars a gallon for 87 in my life. Maybe in 2022 it was such a brief spike that I was in between fill ups.

Maybe the term "national average" means not every area is the same????

 

[Hack]

I have never paid 4.50 dollars a gallon for 87 in my life. Maybe in 2022 it was such a brief spike that I was in between fill ups.

Maybe the term "national average" means not every area is the same????

If you are in Clearwater, FLA the price for 87 octane was $4.76 or so for the month of June 2022.

 

[MAGS1]

How many here bought these car's with being frugal in mind?

I didn’t but I certainly also didn’t expect to be paying well north of $6/gallon either.

 

[geep81]

Time flies when you get to this age, but it sure seems like just in recent years premium has become much more of a premium.

I can say anecdotally I've had cars that needed premium since I was 25 and I am 44 now, and I remember when premium used to only be 20-30c more when I was a kid. For me though, the entire time I have needed it has seemed like it has been a buck more than regular.

I always felt like I got shafted when I hit driving age. It was 99c a gal my first year driving, and then shot way way up and never went back!

 

[MAGS1]

I can say anecdotally I've had cars that needed premium since I was 25 and I am 44 now, and I remember when premium used to only be 20-30c more when I was a kid. For me though, the entire time I have needed it has seemed like it has been a buck more than regular.

I always felt like I got shafted when I hit driving age. It was 99c a gal my first year driving, and then shot way way up and never went back!

Same here, we’re very close in age and I remember gas being right around a buck or so. Gas prices may come back down a fair amount eventually, but they never seem to fall all the way back to where they were prior to whatever caused them to spike in the first place. Same for prices of other goods as well

 

[Pistol_91]

If you are in Clearwater, FLA the price for 87 octane was $4.76 or so in June 2022.

Yeah I read that too, maybe I went to a "cheaper" gas station and got lucky, or maybe basing statistics of averages around here is just plain ignorant but I wouldn't expect anybody to realize that if you don't live around here.

Add into that average that gas prices on the beaches are typically 75 cents to a dollar more than inland Pinellas in 2022.

With the 2 hurricanes that nearly wiped the beaches off the map in 2024, gas prices aren't much different on the beach anymore because it's still being rebuilt and tourism is not very high out there compared to 2022. Along with home owners, businesses etc etc. there isn't much happening out there right now.

But yeah let's just Google everything instead of being logical. That's the 2026 way anyway...
With that being said, like I stated before, these are the highest gas prices I've ever paid for, period.

 

[tom_sprecher]

I can't tell you the price around here now. I'll use GasBuddy to find the best deal, but I'm not driving out of my way to get it. At this point in my life the price of gas doesn't really matter.

 

[Jccams]

Just checked today, here in my part of SE MI it's $5.50 at Costco up to $6.19. Just a crazy price swing within a 10 mile radius.

 

[geep81]

Your statement reminded me of a quote by the Union General Philip Sheridan after he wrapped up Reconstruction duties around 1866-67 - “If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell.”

That's a good one! Lots of good stuff in Texas but I personally hate air conditioning and living in a place that is unbearable without AC 80% of the year is a big no thanks.

Was just visiting family in Florida in April and it's already almost too hot for me and the wife there as it is and it only gets way worse from here.

 

[MAGS1]

Haha, I was born in Chicago, moved to TX at 8 but still love the cold and wind, just never get enough here. The heat is real. Some can hack it, some can’t, just like Northern winters I suppose.

Your statement reminded me of a quote by the Union General Philip Sheridan after he wrapped up Reconstruction duties around 1866-67 - “If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell.”

We are, at times, the most humid spot in the country in the middle of summer (corn sweat is a real thing) but our temps rarely hit those of TX (talking suburban Chicago for me specifically). Been to Houston and San Antonio many a time in late July/early August. It’s brutal. If they weren’t work trips, I wouldn’t have gone LOL. Been to Omaha for baseball in June when the daytime temp was mid 90’s and feels like temps of 110. That sucked too

 

[Bob Lob Law]

The weather I can deal with hot or cold, it's the large shit whole cities that I cannot.

 

[MAGS1]

large shit whole cities

Like St. Louis? LOL, sorry as a Chicagoan I couldn’t resist. A little Cubs-Cardinals thing there.

 

[ihasnostang]

AI Overview



Major California refinery closures in 2025-2026, including the Phillips 66 Los Angeles refinery and Valero’s Benicia refinery, are reducing state refining capacity by nearly 20%. These shutdowns, driven by environmental regulations and declining demand, have caused California gas prices to spike to roughly \(\$4.58\)–\(\$4.81\) per gallon, significantly above the national average. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key Recent Refinery Closures (California)

• Phillips 66 (Los Angeles/Wilmington): Finalized closure of its refinery in late 2025.
• Valero (Benicia): Initiated an early shutdown of its 145,000-barrel-per-day refinery in February 2026, ahead of its planned April closure.
• Impact: These closures collectively remove nearly 20% of California's in-state gasoline production, causing a "cost and supply crisis". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Market and Regional Impact

• Rising Prices: California gas prices have surged, with warnings that they could climb even higher due to the combined impact of the closures and geopolitical events affecting supply.
• Increased Imports: The state is now increasingly reliant on foreign oil and gas imports to fill the supply gap, increasing vulnerability to global market shocks.
• Long-Term Trend: These closures are part of a broader, long-term trend of refineries closing or repurposing in California due to strict environmental policies, high operating costs, and a state goal of reducing petroleum reliance.

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