Chevron Corp. plans to operate its California refinery “normally” amid a worker strike that began just after midnight on March 21, potentially limiting the impact on gasoline prices in the state.

Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s oil refinery near New Orleans exploded into flames on Feb. 21, threatening to crimp fuel supplies and raise pump prices at a time of already rampant inflation.

After several years of plant closures and conversions to make renewable fuel, the pressure on American refiners to shut down excess capacity is easing as gasoline demand nears pre-pandemic levels and supplies dwindle.

Texas’ refining complex is mostly back from February’s crippling cold blast, but lingering freeze-related issues continue to plague a number of production units.

Oil refineries aren’t being spared as COVID-19 sweeps through Texas, which is setting records for new infections and hospitalizations in the U.S. almost daily.

The projected $2.70 a gallon pump price for 2019 is 3 cents lower than 2018 levels, although this year’s high could reach $3 as soon as May and top $4 in some cities, according to GasBuddy’s Price Fuel Outlook. The lower prices have not escaped Trump’s attention, who equated them to a tax cut in a tweet Jan. 1.

U.S. drivers might be feeling flush after getting tax cuts amid a growing economy as they embark on the summer driving season, but road trips will cost more this year.

The United Steelworkers union representing 30,000 U.S. oil workers has reached a tentative deal on a new four-year contract offered by Royal Dutch Shell Plc on behalf of oil companies, a person familiar with the talks said.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the United Steelworkers, which represents 30,000 U.S. oil workers, are said to be planning to restart talks this week to resolve a labor dispute as more workers joined in the nation’s biggest refinery strike since 1980.

The United Steelworkers, representing more than 30,000 U.S. oil workers, instructed members to reject a seventh labor contract offered by Royal Dutch Shell Plc as the biggest refinery strike since 1980 dragged on.