The
Contra Costa Times reports that, due to an extended seven week closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia, the shut down of some units of the the Shell Oil refinery in Martinez during the first six months of 2011, and a scheduled major maintenance project at the Tesoro Martinez refinery that is planned for this year, Bay Area gas prices are expected to spike near $4.00 per gallon in the coming days and months. According to Jason Toews, co-founder of Minnesota-based
GasBuddy.com, a site that tracks gas prices, "$3.80 and $3.90 seem quite certain, and $4 is a definite possibility."
