Authored by Rob Sabo via The Epoch Times,

Several energy companies have announced the closure of some of their refineries in California in recent months, citing the regulatory environment and operational losses.

Multiple experts in the state’s oil and gas industry recently spoke with The Epoch Times about the closures and their potential impacts on fuel prices and fuel availability in the Golden State.

Valero Energy Corporation announced in April 2025 that it would shutter its refinery operations in Benicia, in the San Francisco Bay area. The company also said that it had evaluated the refinery assets in Benicia and Wilmington, near the Port of Long Beach, and concluded that the carrying values of both assets were not recoverable.

Valero said it would continue serving the Golden State’s oil needs through existing inventories and oil imports.

The Wilmington refinery produced 15 percent of the asphalt supply for the entire Southern California region and had a capacity of 135,000 barrels per day. The Benicia refinery on the Carquinez Straits of San Francisco Bay, meanwhile, produced as much as 170,000 barrels per day and employed more than 400.

While the Benicia refinery was originally slated to cease production in April 2026, it actually ceased production in late January. The closure comes on the heels of Phillips 66 ending operations at its Los Angeles refineries in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Phillips 66 operated refineries in Wilmington and Carson that distributed fuel throughout California, as well as to Nevada and Arizona. The dual sites spanned 650 acres and employed about 600.

Chevron, meanwhile, announced in August 2024 that it was relocating its headquarters from San Ramon to Houston, Texas. The company had operated in the Golden State since 1879 and employed more than 2,000 people in San Ramon. Its refineries in Richmond and El Segundo supply more than 1,800 retail locations in the state.

Michael Mische, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business,toldSiyamak Khorrami, host of The Epoch Times’s “California Insider,” that Valero’s and Chevron had incurred heavy asset write-offs before they made those decisions.

Source: ZeroHedge News