Los Angeles Times: Shell to Cut Summer Output at Bakersfield Refinery, Leaked Papers Say
By Elizabeth Douglass, Times Staff Writer
June 21, 2004
Shell Oil Co. plans to put the brakes on production at its Bakersfield refinery in July and August, potentially shorting California’s fuel supplies during the summertime driving season, according to internal Shell documents.
The planned cutback is the latest development in the controversy over the refinery, which can process up to 70,000 barrels a day of crude oil and makes about 2% of California’s gasoline supply and 6% of its diesel. Shell has said it will close the facility Oct. 1 in a move that experts predict will boost pump prices by worsening the chronic imbalance between supply and demand in the state.