DISCOUNTERS' GAS PRICES KEEP CLIMBING.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

As gasoline prices soar, motorists can't even find relief from discounters that usually offer prices well below those of the major oil companies.

Thrifty, USA and others that normally sell cut-price gas are facing short supplies in the wholesale market because of the refinery problems that have sent prices at the pump skyrocketing to their highest levels ever.

``Independent gasoline stations are at a greater disadvantage right now because wholesale prices have gone up quite rapidly in the last couple of weeks,'' said Fred Rozell, retail pricing director for the Oil Price Information Service. ``And many of these retailers are not making money as a result of spending more at the rack.''

Because of reduced supplies, the average price of regular gasoline was $2.124 per gallon in Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. A survey of 10 stations across the San Fernando Valley showed an average of $2.076 Tuesday.

``Just like the old adage, gasoline shoots up like a rocket and comes down like a feather,'' said wholesaler Bob van der Valk of Santa Fe Springs-based Cosby Oil.

The wholesale price of gasoline was as high as $1.70 last week, though Valk said the price has now fallen 30 cents in some cases.

The price jump stems from refinery breakdowns in California and a ruptured oil pipeline in Arizona.

The rift in the Kinder Morgan Energy Partners' Tucson-to-Phoenix pipeline caused California refiners to divert 138,000 barrels daily to Arizona, 38,000 barrels more than usual, to ease the shortage, according to the California Energy Commission.

A recent heat wave in Europe also put a kink in supply levels as many gasoline imports were redirected to alleviate the problem there. But Rozell said gasoline has been flowing to California without a hitch in the past couple of days.

``And while prices may not decline as quickly before Labor Day, people should start seeing things reverse as wholesale prices go down,'' he said.

BP, the parent company of Arco and Thrifty, declined to provide information regarding their prices.

The recent spike at the rack has been particularly taxing for USA Petroleum of Agoura Hills. The independent company has been losing money for the past month amid mounting wholesale prices.

``The wholesale price has been real tough on us. We were losing about 20 to 25 cents a gallon at the pump,'' said Mark Conant, USA's president. ``But I think things are starting to change though and we should be pricing more like an independent very soon.''

Companies like USA generally begin to profit as gasoline prices decline because they don't have the same financial constraints as larger companies and are able to lower their prices faster.

Conant said he's confident his bottom line will improve now that the Arizona pipeline has been repaired and refiners are churning out enough gas to replenish supply levels.

That's good news to Katherine Castro, 22, who usually fills up her Mustang at the USA station on the corner of Tampa Avenue and Parthenia Street in Northridge. Regular gasoline was priced at $2.05 on Tuesday.

``I fill up here depending on how much I have in my wallet,'' she said. ``I'm here today for that reason and the fact that this station is more convenient. Hopefully prices will continue to drop before the weekend.''

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Gasoline pump prices Tuesday at a Thrifty station, left, are higher than those at major retailer Chevron across the street at Shoup Avenue and Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer