BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) Drivers in Kern County are paying more at the pump than motorists in Los Angeles County, a difference some Bakersfield residents say is surprising given the region’s role in California oil production.
As of Wednesday, the average price per gallon in Kern County was $5.73, compared with $5.54 in Los Angeles County.
Bakersfield local Rebecca Bustamante said she did not expect Kern County to be more expensive.
Kern County gas prices average higher than L.A. County, surprising drivers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Asked if it was surprising that gas costs more in Kern County than in LA County, Bustamante said, “Yes, it is.” When asked why, she said, “Because usually everything is usually more expensive over there.”
Another Bakersfield local, Cynthia Rodriguez, said, “Well I mean you would think it would be cheaper here because you know everything is more expensive in LA.”
Stuart Heisler, vice president of Anacapa Engineering and Design, said Kern County produces more oil than any other place in California, but that local production is only part of what the state uses.
“So, in Kern County we make more oil than any other place in the state of California, but again that’s only 20 percent of the oil that comes into the state. The rest has to be imported,” Heisler said.
Kern County gas prices average higher than L.A. County, surprising drivers (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)
Heisler said Los Angeles is seeing lower costs right now largely because of where refining happens.
“The refining is almost entirely done in LA and the Bay Area,” he said.
Heisler said oil drilled in Kern County must be shipped by pipeline to Los Angeles for refining, and then the gasoline has to be transported back to Kern County by truck.
Kern County gas prices average higher than L.A. County, surprising drivers (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
“To get that gasoline back to Kern County it has to get into a truck and then be trucked up here to our gas stations and so we’re always going to have higher prices for gasoline in Kern County than in L.A. or the Bay Area,” he said.