Apr 02 2025 40 mins 3
California’s refinery network is shrinking. Phillips 66 is shutting down its LA refinery, and more closures may follow. But what happens when we lose domestic refining capacity with no clear plan to replace it?
Skip York, Chief Energy Strategist at Turner Mason & Company and Nonresident Fellow for Energy and Global Oil at Rice University’s Baker Institute, joins California Insider to explain how this shift could leave the state more dependent on foreign imports. We explore what California’s fuel future could look like, why state-run refineries may not be the solution, and whether a quiet policy alternative—state-backed fuel importing—offers a more practical path.
