Feb 6, 2012:

California-blend gasoline weakened against futures after ConocoPhillips said the Los Angeles refinery finished maintenance that began last month.

Houston-based Conoco completed work on equipment in the Carson section of the 147,000-barrel-a-day Los Angeles oil refinery, said Rich Johnson, a Conoco spokesman in Houston. The plant was scheduled to flare through Feb. 3 related to the maintenance, according to a notice filed with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Carbob in Los Angeles slipped 0.75 cent to a premium of 11.75 cents a gallon against gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 5:36 p.m. East Coast time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prompt-delivery of the fuel rose 0.6 cent to $3.0454 a gallon.

“There is no planned maintenance under way currently at the Los Angeles refinery,” Johnson said in an e-mailed statement.

Carbob in San Francisco fell 0.75 cent to a discount of 2.25 cents against futures.

Los Angeles area refineries begin delivering summer-grade gasoline across pipelines this month, while Bay Area refiners don’t switch until the second pipeline cycle of next month, according to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP’s schedule.

California-blend, or CARB, diesel in Los Angeles dropped 0.62 cent to a premium of 0.88 cent above Nymex heating oil futures. San Francisco CARB diesel was unchanged, even with futures.

Conventional, 87-octane gasoline in Portland, Oregon, fell 1.5 cents to a discount of 19 cents, against gasoline futures.

Tesoro Corp.’s 125,000-barrel-a-day Anacortes refinery in Washington state was operating normally following an equipment malfunction last week, Tina Barbee, a spokeswoman at the company’s headquarters in San Antonio, said in an e-mail.

By BusinessWeek