The enormity of the State of California’s financial problems is well known at this point, as is the extremely high (and continually increasing) cost of living for the state’s residents. While Gavin Newsom is obsessively fixated on Donald Trump and tariffs, Newsom’s own policies are causing even further pain to the state government’s bottom line and people living paycheck to paycheck he supposedly cares so much about:
Gavin Newsom’s announcing LAWSUIT against Trump to stop tariffs
California’s now 1st state to sue over them
Says 80% of his kids’ toys come from China and he’s got family living paycheck to paycheck
Trump’s got ‘no rationale, no plan’ pic.twitter.com/IQH0QpTDDC
— RT (@RT_com) April 16, 2025
Newsom’s latest failure is, unsurprisingly, related to Big Oil. As a result of his relentless attacks on the industry, yet another refinery is shutting down operations in the state. Earlier this week Valero gave notice to the California Public Utilities Commission of its intent to shut down its refinery in Benicia, in the Bay Area, by April 2026, and in a press release announcing the move said it “continues to evaluate strategic alternatives for its remaining operations in California.”
The move is significant because the state currently has only 14 operating refineries, and one of those (Phillips 66’s Los Angeles refinery) is already scheduled to go idle starting in October 2025. Combined, Valero’s Benicia refinery and Phillips 66’s Los Angeles refinery represent 17.5 percent of the state’s oil production capacity. Losing both will hit middle and working-class families hard, and if Valero follows through on its implied threat of idling its other refinery in the state (in Wilmington), the state will lose another 5.24 percent of its current capacity – a total of 369,000 barrels a day.
For perspective, in 1985, when the state had a population of 25 million, there were 40 operating refineries. Even after losing millions of residents for greener (and redder) pastures, the state has a population of 39.4 million and soon will have only 12 operating refineries. Obviously, there’s a major supply problem.
It could easily get much worse. Mike Vomund, a top executive with Chevron, which produces more than 30 percent of the state’s oil, wasn’t positive about the company’s future in California in an interview with KCRA on Thursday, saying:
“What happens down the road, I have no idea, I won’t speculate on that . . . We want to stay here; the problem is the policies of California are making it uninvestable.”
In addition to the onerous environmental regulations and refinery surplus bill, Vomund cited another Sacramento policy as a major problem for the oil business:
“There’s a bill that was passed last year, SB 12, that has a margin cap possibility on the refining business. You can’t make investments when there’s this looming threat that we’re gonna come in and tell you what we believe was an acceptable amount of money for you to make. So it makes it difficult to impossible to invest in that environment. So the margin cap needs to go away.”
In addition to its own refineries, Chevron operates Valero and Phillips 66’s refineries in the state. If all of these refineries close, there will also be a major loss of well-paying jobs.
And what’s Gavin Newsom’s response? Pathetic, as usual.
Valero’s refinery shutdown announcement is a direct consequence of years of hostility by Gavin Newsom toward domestic refining. Now we’re staring down fuel shortages, price spikes, and job losses — all self-inflicted. Energy security isn’t optional. pic.twitter.com/JcLJ0R0Pjc
— Vince Fong (@vfong) April 17, 2025
In the middle of that news clip, Newsom responds to Valero’s news by saying:
I can assure you, beginning last night we had all hands and we’re in the process of addressing any anxiety that may be created or any market disruption that may be created by that announcement.
How fruitful is that “addressing any anxiety” likely to be? Newsom’s never proven able to negotiate in any way with the oil industry; he prefers the stick approach over the carrot. (For more about Newsom’s inability to understand reality, read: CA Refinery Exec Explains How State Regulations Affect Gas Supply and Prices So Even Newsom Can Understand.) Much like voters who finally threw up their hands and left the state when Newsom pushed too far, these companies are at the point of just leaving the state, out of his jurisdiction.
And, what’s with his timing? “Beginning last night?” I’m guessing that the oil executives weren’t recipients of Newsom’s “Bat Phones.”
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie.
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