Tesoro cuts gas prices for cash purchases

The new owner of Tesoro gas stations in Hawaii has begun offering a discount of 10 cents per gallon for cash purchases at selected locations, making it the latest gasoline retailer in the state to offer its customers a bit of relief from the state’s high pump prices.

The promotion, launched March 17, will be available at nine Tesoro gas stations on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island for a limited time, said Eric Lee, general manager of the retail division of Hawaii Independent Energy, which operates the network of 31 Tesoro-branded gas stations in Hawaii.

Houston-based Par Petroleum Corp. bought Tesoro’s Hawaii refinery, retail operations and other assets last fall. It created Hawaii Independent Energy to run the local operations. Par retained the Tesoro name for the chain of gas stations.

"With new ownership comes the opportunity to reposition our brand in the market," Lee said. "We want to provide good value for consumers."

The promotion is available at seven stations on Oahu: Kapa­hulu, Kaka­ako, Kalihi, Kapo­lei, Mili­lani Town Center, Mili­lani Mauka and Wai­anae. It is also being offered in Kahu­lui and Hilo.

No end date has been set for the promotion, said Lance Tanaka, Hawaii Independent Energy spokes­man.

"If this works, then perhaps will look at expanding it," he said. "Right now we’re just going out there and reacquainting ourselves with our customers," he said.

"We’re one of two refineries that make the fuel here. Our strategy is to optimize what we have on the ground. So as a producer of the fuel, we feel this is something we can do."

Aloha Petroleum and Lex Brodie’s also offer discounts for cash purchases.

Motorists who buy gas at Aloha’s locations at Hilo Sack N Save and Wai­luku Foodland will receive 10 cents off a gallon for cash purchases until the end of May. Aloha also has an ongoing promotion where customers at all its gas stations receive 5 cents off a gallon by showing a Foodland Maikai cards, a AAA card or a Farmers Insurance card.

Lex Brodie’s offers a discount ranging from 5 to 15 cents a gallon for cash purchases at its Wai­pahu location. The discount was discontinued at its Kaka­ako store.

In addition, Chevron has a partnership with Safeway that provides its customers a discount of either 10 or 20 cents a gallon based on the amount of groceries they purchase from Safeway during a given period.

Hawaii’s average gas price of $4.20 a gallon for regular is the highest in the nation, topping second-place Cali­for­nia at $3.97 a gallon, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge report.