Valero’s 170,000 barrel-per-day Benicia refinery, representing ~10% of California’s gasoline, will phase out production by April 2026, creating severe local job insecurity for 400+ workers and threatening $11 million annual tax revenue for the City of Benicia. The closure stems from high regulatory costs, impacting California’s fuel supply and raising potential price volatility.
The closure adds further risk to California’s beleaguered fuel supply chain. The shutdown is expected to reduce in-state production, potentially increasing prices at the pump. The closure will increase California’s reliance on imported gasoline and diesel, and it may heighten vulnerability to supply disruptions or refinery outages elsewhere on the West Coast.
Local workers are facing a harsh reality of immediate job losses and financial insecurity. Refinery jobs are generally high‑wage, unionized, blue‑collar positions, with workers receiving approximately $100,000 per year with overtime and benefits. The promised “just transition” for these families and communities has not materialized.
For Benicia’s residents, and all Californians, there are significant questions regarding affordability and energy security that need answers from state policy makers.
customers to reduce use of natural gas to lower the risk of gas and electricity shortages during a cold snap. It lifted the advisory two days later.
California and New Mexico have asked a federal court to allow them to join a lawsuit over a final rule issued by the Interior Department that reduces venting and flaring from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands.
program for 2017, including $4.7 billion in expenditures by affiliated companies.
final plan to guide future energy development for the Nation’s Outer Continental Shelf for 2017-2022.
The Air Resources Board (ARB) has released for public review revised drafts of its Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy and the related Environmental Analysis.