Governor Schwarzenegger has asked state energy officials to, in the words of a news release from his office, "closely monitor" the state's gas prices in the wake of British Petroleum's shutdown of its Alaskan oil field operations.

The governor sent word to the California Energy Commission to keep an eye on the situation. According to the governor's office, 20% of the crude oil used in California refineries in 2005 came from Alaska's North Slope. Schwarzenegger also sent a letter today to federal officials asking them to expedite the investigation of BP's oil pipeline, and to also expedite any shipments of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the West Coast, should the reserve be tapped.

The high price of gas continues to show up in public polling as a big issue with voters. And you might remember that several months ago, Schwarzenegger asked the state's energy commission to look into the reasons for the spike in prices during the spring of 2006. The interim report, which was issued in June, merely confirmed that prices were higher than normal. The final report is expected to be released one week from tomorrow.