With no pipelines over the Sierra Mountains, California is an energy island separated from the crude oil supply and the infrastructure of oil refineries within the other 49 States.
Collectively, California, the 4th largest economy in the world, consumes a humongous 61 million gallons of ALL transportation fuels PER DAY (jet fuel, 3 grades of gasoline, and diesel fuel). With California being an “energy island,” the transportation fuel demands have been made in California by in-state refineries for airports, cars, trucks, and ships, which have staggering numbers FROM those in-state refineries.
- Jet fuel: With all 145 airports, including 9 international airports and 41 military airports, the demand in 2024 was 93,494,000 barrels per year, or almost 40 billion gallons per year, or about 11 million gallons of jet fuel PER DAY.
- Gasoline: Gasoline is California’s most widely used transportation fuel, serving its 30 million vehicles. Light-duty cars, pickup trucks, and sport utility vehicles account for 97% of consumption. In 2024, 13.4 billion gallons of gasoline were sold, averaging 40 million gallons per day.
- Diesel: The second largest transportation fuel used in California, representing 17 percent of total fuel sales behind gasoline. In 2024, 3.5 billion gallons of diesel were sold, or almost 10 million gallons of diesel fuel per day
California Refinery History
In the past, California had 41 refineries in all. By 2023, the state was down to 11 major refineries that were still online, processing crude oil.
In 2023, both Marathon in Martinez and ConocoPhillips in Rodeo converted their refineries to run on renewable diesel transportation fuel.
- This removed 256,000 barrels per day of crude oil processing capacity, cutting gasoline production by approximately 5.6 to 6 million gallons per day—about 17% of California’s gasoline output—and eliminating nearly 1.2 million gallons per day of jet fuel production.
In October of 2025, the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington went offline. Wilmington had a crude oil charge rate of 139,000 barrels per day.
- This removed 3 million gallons per day of gasoline production, along with nearly 2 million gallons per day of jet fuel and diesel, reducing the state’s gasoline output by 8% to 9%.
On January 31, 2026, the Valero Refinery in Benicia shut down its operations.
- The resulting gasoline fuel production loss was equivalent to 3.8 million gallons per day or nearly 12% of the state’s daily consumption. Jet fuel and diesel fuel production losses equaled 1.3 million gallons per day.
From energy dominance to energy dependence!
Today, California is importing nearly 38% of its gasoline transportation fuel demands from foreign refineries.
In addition, crude oil processing rates have been down by 33% since 2023. This has forced California to import its transportation fuel requirements from refineries located in foreign countries.
California is isolated by the Rocky and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. Because of these natural barriers and the fact that California has always met its own transportation fuel production needs, pipelines were never run into the state from the rest of the country. This effectively makes California an energy island.
California consumes 65 million gallons per day of fuel. These fuels include jet fuel, diesel fuel, and 3 grades of gasoline. California policies have forced the state to import over 1/3 of its gasoline and transportation fuels, or nearly 20 million gallons per day, from overseas countries like Singapore, South Korea, India, and China. The importation of transportation fuels from foreign countries has resulted in significant risks to both our civilian populations and military in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
With the recent closure of two refineries, Phillips and Valero, California policymakers should note that the refineries in these foreign countries do not have emission standards that are anywhere near the level that exists with California refineries. In addition, the numerous ships that are required to ship transportation fuels to California have high emissions. For 35 – 45 days, these ships emit high levels of pollution while transiting the vast Pacific Ocean.
Infrastructure Limitations
California’s three major ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland cannot store or handle the importation of large volumes of transportation fuels from offshore refineries. In the event all remaining 7 in-state refineries close, and the huge property footprints are converted to commercial usage or to California affordable housing, it would take upwards of 6,000 to 7,000 tanker trucks PER DAY to move this volume of imported transportation fuels from the ports.
The infrastructure at the ports to import humongous volumes of transportation fuels does not exist.
- Nor do the ports’ abilities to handle the volume of tanker trucks PER DAY to move that fuel,
- Nor would citizens tolerate that number of tanker trucks on the California freeways.
- Nor would CALTRANS be excited about that much flammable fuel traversing the California freeways.
Letters to Governor Newsom from PBF, Chevron, and Marathon:
Between February 25 and March 9, 2026, these three corporations, representing 6 of the largest remaining refineries in California, dispatched letters to the Governor and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
While the letters had varying content, they all shared two things in common.
- CARB needed to sit down with the corporations to negotiate the terms of the newly proposed Cap and Invest amendments.
- If they refused, then all three corporations would seriously look at shutting down their refineries, six in total, as Phillips 66 and Valero did, and leave the state.
If the major operating refineries make good on their warnings to the governor, then California would see a total economic collapse. This would result in the following:
- 1.12 million barrels per day of crude oil refining would go offline.
- 25 million gallons per day of gasoline production to support the States’ 30 million vehicles would disappear.
- Between 7-8 million gallons per day of jet fuel to support the military and international airports would be lost.
- Over 10 million gallons per day of diesel fuel to support the trucking infrastructure would vanish.
With the onset of the Iranian war, the Asian countries that were supplying us with our fuel were forced to suspend their shipments. This set California on a course to run out of fuel. Because of this, POTUS made the call to waive the Jones Act. This allowed foreign-flagged tankers to take fuel receipts from states in the Gulf of America and deliver them to California. This forced the Gulf refineries to increase their production rates. Currently, they are operating at 98% of capacity. They do not have any more room to increase production. And these rates cannot be maintained on a long-term basis.
If the remaining seven California refineries shut down, in addition to those already closed, California could face a collapse in the transportation-fuel supply chain. The major ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland could cease operations; shipments of many goods could be disrupted; and grocery-store food deliveries could stop. The ripple effects on the military and neighboring states could be unprecedented.
Please share this information with teachers, students, and friends to encourage Energy Literacy conversations at the family dinner table.
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