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What I’m hearing from energy insiders
Greetings from California. This week’s Power Insider comes to you from the place of my birth, Los Angeles. While we moved from LA to Orange County and then to San Diego - and, finally - Virginia - the City of Angels will always be my original hometown. Sadly, these days it’s also the home of some of the most expensive gasoline in America.
California used to be one of the big homes of American oil and gas. The state has prodigious oil reserves. For decades, it was the home state of Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, and Atlantic Richfield. But much has changed since then. Chevron moved its headquarters to Houston, Occidental spun off California Resources Corp (CRC), and BP snapped up ARCO back in 2000. California is also home to more people - and more cars - than any state in the country. While you may not realize it, both California’s current and former Governors have extensive knowledge of fossil fuels and have families connected to the oil and gas industry.
So, then, given the energy rich history of the state, why is gasoline so expensive here?
