Valero says that it may close its refinery in Benicia by April 2026. While gas prices receive much attention from state policymakers, refinery workers and communities deserve equal consideration. 

The potential closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia highlights key gaps in California’s energy transition strategy: a lack of planning for fuel supply disruptions and inadequate support for workers during the phaseout of fossil fuels.

While gas prices have received a lot of attention from state policymakers, refinery workers and communities deserve equal consideration. California urgently needs a just transition plan so they aren’t left behind.

Energy transition is well underway. Valero is not the first planned refinery closure announced in California, and it won’t be the last. Last year, Phillips 66 announced it was preparing to shutter its refining complex in Los Angeles, and the company closed its Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County) refinery in 2023. In 2020, the Marathon oil refinery in Martinez closed before later reopening as a biofuel refinery with just a fraction of its former workforce. And this isn’t just a California trend: refinery margins are down globally, and closures are happening in other states as well — even in Texas.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

The abrupt pace of refinery closures has California

© San Francisco Chronicle