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Multiple refineries in California have recently declared their intentions to shutter operations, leaving the Golden State uncertain about future fuel supplies and impacts on prices at the pump. Valero Energy Corp. was the latest to make such an announcement, alerting the California Energy Commission (CEC) last month that it would “idle, restructure or cease refining operations” at its Benicia refinery by the end of April 2026. The Valero notice followed similar news at Phillips 66 in October, when that company said it would be ceasing operations at its Los Angeles-area refinery in the fourth quarter of 2025. Firms are attributing...

Valero says by April 2026, its Benicia refinery will be shut down.

According to a proposal by Democrats at the Colorado state Capitol, up to a $20,000 fine will hang over the heads of every retailer who sells either liquid or gas fuels if they don’t have global warming warning stickers on their pumps and products if House Bill 25-1277 is signed into law. The bill, Increasing Transparency Impact of Fuel Products, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder and Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, says retail outlets selling petroleum-based fuel products must put stickers on pumps, store displays and other retail items or face fines. “Evidently the purpose...

"No pipelines exist to feed gasoline in from other states.".. If you thought that the LA wildfires exposed just how mismanaged California is, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Russia. China. Venezuela. Iran. More than a dozen countries make gasoline at state-owned refineries. Could California be next on the list? Let’s see what do all of those places have in common? Tyrannical regimes. Miserable lives for much of the population. High levels of migration. Radical politics. Sure, California belongs on that list. California policymakers are considering state ownership of one or more oil refineries, one item on a list of options...

...Macedo criticized the policy, which she says would have “put truck drivers – many of whom are from working-class communities – out of business.” Additionally, this burden on the trucking industry would only contribute to the affordability crisis the State of California is experiencing. Policies such as these fail to take into consideration the financial impact on businesses and consumers. It is time the Governor, CARB and the rest of his Administration work with, instead of against, employers and their workers who are critical to the State’s economy. Alexandra Macedo. ...

Iran is in the midst of a fuel shortage and an electricity crisis, causing essential utilities to be shut down in the middle of a cold winter. The regime has failed to provide for its own people but has spent billions of dollars on terror abroad. Al Jazeera reported Wednesday: Tens of millions of people across Iran are facing major disruptions as authorities shut down services in the face of an exacerbating energy and currency crisis amid historic regional tensions. This week, government offices, schools, banks and businesses in major provinces and in the capital Tehran have been largely closed...

A groundbreaking lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas accuses financial giants BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street of colluding to manipulate the U.S. coal market. The case, spearheaded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and supported by 10 other state attorneys general, alleges that these firms have used their substantial ownership stakes in major coal producers to suppress competition and artificially raise energy prices. The states listed as plaintiffs are” Texas Alabama Arkansas Indiana Iowa Kansas Missouri Montana Nebraska West Virginia Wyoming According to the 108-page complaint, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street collectively...

— Less than two weeks after the California Air Resources Board voted on controversial updates to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, a Republican State Senator is pushing to roll them back. State Senator Brian Jones on Tuesday announced he'll introduce a bill to repeal the updates, stating the legislation is needed because of the likelihood those new standards coupled with other state policies will likely raise gas prices.

Gas prices could soon be going up as California aims to hit carbon emissions goals. Members of the California Air Resources Board are set to vote Friday on an update to the state’s clean air rules, specifically the low carbon fuel standard. The issue is hitting an emission reduction goal set by Gov. Gavin Newsom to nearly half of 1990 levels by 2030. Amending the rules to reach that goal likely translates to significant increases in gas prices. While the Air Resources Board hasn’t issued an updated estimate on a gas price hike, its last one was 47 cents a...

Cuba's government said late on Saturday it had restored power to nearly one-fifth of the island's people after the national grid collapsed twice in 24 hours, plunging millions of people into darkness. The unprecedented nationwide blackout is the latest blow in the nation of 10 million, already suffering from dramatic shortages of food, medicine and fuel. Cuba's top electricity official, Lazaro Guerra, said the grid operator was working to restore electricity but that the process would be slow and rushing the job could lead to more blackouts and a deterioration of service. "I cannot assure you that we will be...

"It's not only the lack of electricity but also of gas and water," she told AFP, 11 hours after the unplanned shutdown of Cuba's main thermal power plant triggered the collapse of the country's grid. With a frown, she said her "generation wants to continue trusting" in the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, but her "resilience has limits". Cuba is in the throes of its worst economic crisis in 30 years, marked by sky-high inflation and shortages of food, medicine, fuel and water.

“She’s thinking with her heart and not her brain,” said aviation manufacturing consultant Gerald Adler to the Globe on Monday. “Unleaded fuel was approved for piston-engine planes in 2022, but the problem is that a lot of engines are not rated for unleaded fuels. Could they run on it? Yes. But the problem comes with testing. Not all have been tested with it properly and still need leaded av gas. And there is no way that testing of all relevant engines can be done by 2031. More time is needed. Whoever came up with this bill just doesn’t realize the...

For families struggling to make ends meet, Kamala Harris claims she has a plan to lower energy costs. What she will deliver is more pain. Just ask anyone paying energy bills in a state her party controls. On Harris’ campaign website, she pays lip service to reducing energy costs, but then rattles off a long list of plans to tackle the “climate crisis.” We already know you can’t have one with the other. At a congressional hearing last week, members of the House Budget Committee heard from witnesses about how Biden-Harris policies have fueled today’s energy crisis. One of the...

Eminem has been praised by fans online after an incendiary lyric from his song Fuel about Diddy resurfaced following his arrest this week. Keen music lovers claimed they've finally realized the real meaning of one of the rapper's verses - following the shocking news that Sean Combs, known as Diddy, was charged with a slew of sex crimes. They say Eminem's lyrics, in the song that was released back in July, were a warning about Diddy's sexual assault allegations. The rapper expertly littered his lyrics with double meanings - a word or phrase that is open to more than one...

In the fantasy of the zero-emissions electricity future, there will either be regular devastating blackouts, or something must back up the intermittent wind and solar generation. In New York we call that imaginary something the “DEFR” (Dispatchable Emissions Free Resource). But what is it? Nuclear has been blocked for decades, especially in the blue jurisdictions that are most aggressively pursuing the wind/solar future. Batteries are technologically not up to the job, and also wildly too expensive. That leaves hydrogen. Anybody with another idea, kindly speak up. I’ve had several posts discussing the question of whether hydrogen could do this job,...

Omsk oil refinery is responsible for 10% of Russia's gasoline output. And it just exploded, along with many other refineries' troubles. Putting two and two together - gasoline shortages are expected.

Stocks, bonds, gold and bitcoin — pretty much everything but the U.S. dollar — soared Friday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell not only declared that the time has come for policy to adjust but that further increases in the unemployment rate would be unwelcome. Markets looked set for a calmer session Monday, a period of tranquillity that may run until Nvidia reports its results on Wednesday. In the meantime, it’s worth looking at food prices, which have become a potent political issue in the presidential campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris outlined a plan, still lacking many concrete details, that would...

As parties go, this one was glitzy, slick, star-studded and electric. It was also terrifying. By the time Kamala Harris took the stage at the DNC on Thursday evening, we had been told by the Obamas, Oprah, the Clintons, Hollywood and Harris herself that there is no one better to be the next American president, because… After a week of this, I still can't tell you. After a week of the mainstream media insisting the same, I'm at a loss. I doubt I'm alone. We just witnessed not so much a convention as a coronation. This entire production, created to...

As the world seeks economical and efficient methods to produce and utilize sustainable energy sources, Germany is following this noble cause by shifting its fuel type from hydrogen to Methanol for engines. This change aims to cut pollution levels and improve efficiency in sectors like shipping. MAN Energy Solutions, a market leader in this niche, has developed methanol-ready four-stroke engines for substantial emissions cuts. These engines are set to enable the maritime sector to use cleaner fuels, offering a solution to the shift from current marine fuels. MAN’s methanol-ready engines to fuel the future: How advanced technology is revolutionizing maritime...

New vehicles sold in the US will have to average about 38 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2031 in real-world driving, up from about 29 mpg this year, under new federal rules unveiled Friday by the Biden administration. The final rule will increase fuel economy by 2% per year for model years 2027 to 2031 for passenger cars, while SUVs and other light trucks will increase by 2% per year for model years 2029 to 2031, according to requirements released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The final figures are below a proposal released last year. Administration officials...