Valero abruptly shut down its Benicia, California oil refinery — as the state’s already sky-high gas prices are likely to soar higher amid a spiraling “oil crisis,” a new report said.
The Benicia refinery began shutting down on Sunday, four months earlier than planned, a former Valero manager told the California Globe Tuesday.
Thermal imaging showing the facility went cold as the Crimson Pipeline – which transports crude oil from Southern to Northern California – was also taken offline,
“We are in an unprecedented oil crisis,” oil expert Mike Ariza told the publication..
Valero Energy Corp. announced its plans last spring to pull the plug on its 145,000-barrel-per-day refinery by April, a move that is expected to send fuel prices skyrocketing and hobble the state’s refining capacity.
Californians pay the second-highest gas price in the nation behind only Hawaii. In January, the average price was $4.23 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
Refineries are fleeing the Golden State as regulations drive operating costs 26 to 37% higher than the national average.
Ariza warned that as refineries go dark, more Californians will flee the state, noting that the oil and gas industry supports 536,770 jobs and pumps $338 billion into the state’s economy, the outlet reported.