Hex, I'm paying 1.79 a gallon here on the central coast, for regular unleaded...
...I think unclehobart is right though about streamlining...and efficiency in general. Example: 2 miles from where I live is a medium size cracking plant...that gasoline goes to the LA region, and the gasoline that we get HERE comes from around the Bakersfield area...
same company, same grades...but we send local gasoline 5 1/2 hours south...using whatever resources that takes...and we then truck up gas from 4 hours southeast...using whatever resources that takes.,...
...now, I'll grant you that I'm neither a petrochemical engineer nor an Oil company executive....
But I bet there's just a tiny little bit of waste in this arrangement...
MADrin