In a separate report, the Sun Company, the nation's largest independent refiner, said its net income fell 42 percent.

A large independent refiner, Ashland Oil reported a 52.2 percent drop in earnings.

It will account for about 9 percent of the nation's gasoline market and be the nation's largest independent refiner.

Whether oil companies and independent refiners will be able to get even higher prices for heating oil will depend on the winter.

In other states, independent refiners and independent marketers tend to play a larger role in the market.

Before Tosco grew big, most refining was done by the major oil companies or small independent refiners.

Ashland, which describes itself as the nation's largest independent refiner, has suffered along with the rest of the industry.

Because it is an "independent" refiner, Ashland does not process a steady flow of uniform crude oil from company-owned wells.

Such short surges in prices, however, are not expected to cause oil companies and independent refiners to ease their purse strings.

Ashland Oil, the nation's largest independent refiner, said its refining profits rose nearly threefold.