The California attorney general has issued subpoenas to several oil refiners to learn how they set gasoline prices, which are consistently higher in California than in most other states. Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp. confirmed on Thursday that they have received subpoenas in recent weeks. The group Consumer Watchdog has repeatedly called on Harris to investigate oil companies over California gas prices and welcomed news of the investigation. The requests came from Attorney General Kamala Harris, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate. Some consumer advocates have charged that refiners drive prices higher by tactics such as frequent or overly long plant shutdowns.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 30, 2016 23:29 UTC