RICHMOND, Calif. (August 7, 2012)--A fire overnight at one of the country's biggest oil refineries will contribute to higher prices at the pump on the West Coast, analysts said Tuesday.

The fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, about 10 miles northeast of San Francisco, broke out Monday evening and sent plumes of black smoke over the San Francisco Bay area, which sent scores of people to hospitals with breathing problems before it was put out early Tuesday morning.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, said Chevron's refinery is big and important to the market.

With inventories of gasoline in the region already low compared with the rest of the country, Kloza says pump prices in California and elsewhere on the West Coast will soon average more than $4 per gallon.