California’s already sky-high gas prices are expected to surge after Valero abruptly shuttered its Benicia oil refinery amid a spiraling “oil crisis,” a new report claims.
The Benicia refinery began shutting down on Saturday, four months earlier than planned, a former Valero manager told the California Globe Tuesday.
Thermal imaging showed 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 already 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.