California drivers usually pay the highest price per gallon of any state in the country except Hawaii, to fill up their gas tanks. Many factors impact what you pay at the pump, such as the price of crude oil, refining costs, taxes and other fees, marketing, and distribution costs. Some of the costs are because Californians live in the state with the strictest environmental regulations that mandates local refineries produce the world’s cleanest-burning gasoline for sale in California.
Crude oil is the primary raw material used to make gasoline. As AFPM (American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers) explains, the cost of crude oil typically has the most significant impact on the price of gasoline at the pump. The price of crude oil is determined in the global market rather than by the refiner. The saying is that “…the market is the maker (of price), while the Refiner is the taker.