India's struggle to keep kitchen stoves lit is now showing up on California's gas station signs. Reuters reports that a severe fuel shortage has pushed India to order refiners to ramp up output of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used widely for cooking. To do that, they're cutting back on alkylates, a clean-burning gasoline component that's crucial for California's uniquely strict fuel blend designed to decrease smog. With the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupting oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz—once a route for about 20% of global oil—fuel markets worldwide are already tight, and California is now feeling what Reuters deems a "double whammy" of reduced Asian fuel exports and shrinking alkylate supply.
Drivers in the nation's most populous state are now paying more than $6 a gallon on average, with GasBuddy warning prices could top $6.50 as summer demand kicks in. Experts tell Reuters that California's governor has limited options: Tax breaks could worsen shortages, and the state's energy commission is resisting calls to ease blending rules. Gov. Gavin Newsom's "hands are tied. That's the only choice he has," GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan says. Back in India, meanwhile, the LPG shortage has spurred people to wait in long lines for gas-filled cylinders, even though many are rebuffed when supplies run out, meaning they'll have to try to find some LPG through the black market. More here.
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