How Gas Prices Work

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-effi ... price1.htm
http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/


Gas prices also vary from state to state for several reasons. Taxes are probably the biggest factor in the different prices around the country. Additionally, competition among local gas stations can drive prices down. Distance from the oil refineries can also affect prices -- stations closer to the Gulf of Mexico, where many oil refineries are located, have lower gas prices due to lower transportation costs. There are also some regional factors that can affect prices.

What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro ... eserve.htm

I was just in Vegas and gas was about 30 cents more there. Or maybe they were juust gouging the tourists taking their rental cars back to the airport.

it may have been mentioned but don't forget the PADD's (Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts 1 thru 5) and the concept of "futures exchange"

http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleu ... _taxes.htm

http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleu ... /enote.pdf

I wonder how one gets a "-1%" such as in refining expense.

If'n I had to guess, it would be that the cost of refining diesel from the crude oil is represented elsewhere. The fractional distillation of crude oil is done in such a way that the products condensate at different levels of the distillation tower. There is not much in the way of gasoline that comes from the initial distillation (roughly 20% of the total gasoline extracted), and what there is is not very high in octane (mid 30's). The high octane modern fuels require further refining processes, a combination of catalytic reforming and catalytic cracking, to achieve, and thus are more expensive to refine than diesel is as diesel and other fuel oils mostly result from the initial distillation process.