SoCal Gas Prices Rise After Torrance Refinery Blast

The impact on gas prices was immediate after an explosion at a Torrance oil refinery Wednesday.

A worker at a Mobil gas station in nearby Hermosa Beach says he received a call from his boss to raise the price by 5 cents.

"He said it can go up tomorrow again," said the clerk, Romesh Fernando.

Some residents were feeling the pinch as prices began to rise across Southern California.

"Unfortunately gas prices tend to be volatile, and anything they can do to take advantage or raise the prices, they do," said Kevin Lamb of Redondo Beach.

The explosion "most likely will contribute to upward pressure on (gas) prices,'' Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California told City News Service.

"If there is extensive damage that results in a longer-term closure, obviously that (would) have a bigger impact.'' Montgomery said.

GasBuddy.com said prices could jump by 10 cents in the next week because of the blast.

The ExxonMobil Refinery, where about 155,000 barrels of crude oil are processed each day, has been part of the South Bay landscape since the 1920s.

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