The petroleum pipeline maintenance that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee partly blamed Thursday for high gasoline prices ended more than three weeks ago, a BP spokeswoman said Friday.

Industry representatives said the shutdown didn’t impact supply or prices.

Gov. Inslee on high gas prices

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee blasts oil industry, defends cap-and-trade

The Olympic Pipeline distributes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from four northwest Washington refineries. Maintenance was planned for five days, but was finished in three and a half, the spokeswoman, Christina Audisho, said.

“The pipeline was fully operational on June 27th. There is no current maintenance being conducted on the pipeline,” she said in an email.

Inslee highlighted the pipeline at a news conference, deflecting criticism that cap-and-trade, the centerpiece of his climate agenda, was responsible for Washington having the most costly gas in the U.S.

He claimed work on the pipeline was decreasing fuel supplies and driving up prices.

“These oil companies have been trying to blame the fact that we’re holding them accountable for pollution when, in fact, these prices went up because they shut down their pipeline,” he said.

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The governor said he was hopeful gas prices would fall after the pipeline reopened.

The governor’s office had not been advised that the pipeline was open, Inslee spokesman Mike Faulk said in an email Friday.

“The governor’s ad-lib on that was really a footnote to the fact that oil companies are making more than they ever have with no transparency around the prices they charge consumers,” Faulk said.

“That is his message: Oil companies are gouging customers and not being transparent about it while griping about paying their fair share as climate disasters mount,” Faulk said.

Washington surpassed California as the state with the highest-priced gas about a week before work on the pipeline began, according to AAA pricing figures.

No drop in supply

Fuel distributors did not see fuel supplies drop or prices spike during the maintenance, Washington Independent Energy Distributors executive director Lea McCullough said Friday.

“In my opinion, it’s a red herring,” she said. “We’ve not seen a lack of supply.”

Fuel distributors are seeing cap-and-trade impact the price of fuel, she said.

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“It varies from day-to-day, market-to-market, auction-to-auction. It’s quite volatile,” McCullough said. “The governor does not want to own up to it.”

The Western States Petroleum Association estimates cap-and-trade is adding 50 cents a gallon to gasoline. Oil companies must acquire emission allowances at cap-and-trade auctions and can pass along the costs.

Prices on the rise

Since cap-and-trade went into effect Jan. 1, Washington gas prices have diverged from other states in the West Coast Petroleum Administration for Defense District, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration figures.

At the beginning of the year, Washington’s average gas price was 24 cents a gallon less than the district’s average. For the week ending July 17, Washington’s average price was 29 cents higher. The other states in the district are Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Oregon.

AAA in late June reported that pipeline maintenance would likely increase fuel prices in Washington. Inslee cited AAA’s report in his news conference. AAA did not respond to a request to comment.

Audisho said pipeline customers were informed of the upcoming maintenance months in advance.

Inslee has said in interviews that cap-and-trade would add “pennies” to the cost of gasoline. The Department of Ecology also downplayed the impact cap-and-trade would have on fuel prices.

Washington Policy Center environmental policy analyst Todd Myers said the projections were off-target.

“They can either say they’re surprised, or say, ‘We’re still the smartest people in the room and everybody’s a liar,” he said. “That’s the bind they’re in. If they say they’re surprised, it calls into question their ability to do the job.”