April 16th 2025- ABC7 NEWS
A major Bay Area oil refinery has announced it plans to close or restructure its operations by next year. Valero says by April 2026, its Benicia refinery will be shut down.
More than 400 people are employed there. The refinery is one of Solano County’s largest employers. https://abc7ne.ws/4lystLb
December 11, 2025– Vet Radio Syndicate
Bad News for California’s Energy Market
Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) announced Thursday that it will move forward with closing its 145,000-barrel-per-day Benicia refinery by next spring, following unsuccessful talks with state officials to keep the facility operating, according to Dow Jones.
The company will take a $1.1 billion pre-tax impairment charge tied to the Benicia and Wilmington refineries. Together, these facilities process 145,000 barrels of crude per day — capacity that will now shift to Louisiana. That move alone is expected to raise gasoline prices in California, as the state will lose significant in-state refining capability.
Governor Newsom’s administration attempted to negotiate a deal, but Valero said there were no viable solutions. Industry analysts note that the Benicia plant has been hit with a growing stack of regulations that are “punitive, not regulatory,” making continued operation financially unsustainable.
With this refinery capacity gone, California will face reduced access to locally refined gasoline, higher transportation costs to import fuel from other states, and increased price volatility.
A Valero spokesperson summarized it bluntly: “Regulations without common sense lead to unintended consequences — and this is the consequence.”
