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Phillips 66 will begin shutting down its 139,000 bpd Los Angeles-area refinery as soon as next week , sources told Reuters, moving forward on a closure plan announced last year. Units at the plant will idle in phases through Q4 2025, with the facility permanently offline by year-end. The decision isn’t a surprise—Phillips 66 said in October it would exit the site, citing “market dynamics.” But it comes with fallout about 600 employees and 300 contractors will lose their jobs by December, with only a handful reassigned to the company’s marine terminal. The company insists it will support workers through...

The move to develop the Amu Darya field aligns with the Taliban’s goal of self-sufficiency, but can the cash-strapped regime go it alone?In late July, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government decided to pursue unilateral development of the Amu Darya oil field, at least for the time being. It seems unlikely the cash-strapped regime will be able to maximize the potential of the oil field without foreign investment, but it will still be able to collect millions of dollars in revenue by going it alone. The move aligns with the Taliban’s oft stated goal of self-sufficiency. However, international investors may be troubled by...

California Democrats are reportedly rushing to find a buyer for a refinery scheduled to shut down in 2026 as a potential gas crisis looms over the state, according to Reuters. The California Energy Commission (CEC) is reportedly actively seeking buyers to stop the upcoming closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia, California, according to three people familiar with the matter that spoke to Reuters. Democrat officials are now reportedly scrambling to keep the refinery operating in California after enforcing stringent regulations that have helped prompt refineries to close across the state for years. “CEC is engaging with market players to...

A huge blaze has erupted at an oil refinery in a Russian town that was hit by Ukrainian drones earlier this year. Footage shows a fire raging at the industrial site in Kstovo, around 500 miles from the front lines in eastern Ukraine. A thick column of black smoke poured from the plant, reportedly the Lukoil oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

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...

Governor Newsom is causing another refinery to go down. Valero refinery is considering shutting down. It threatens to throw the inhabitants of the small city of Benicia into unemployment and poverty. Valero is planning to shut down next April instead of selling. No one wants to buy it. The Benicia Mayor said the plant brings in millions of dollars. No one wants to buy the plant because it would require a significant amount of money to keep it going. The state of California doesn’t want refiners in its state. They’ve pushed them out, and this is the result. Newsom doesn’t...

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

Gas prices are soaring in California — again — thanks to a refinery fire that has choked supply, sending average prices to $5 per gallon, and even higher in the northern regions of the state. Los Angeles’ KTLA-5 reported: The average price of gas in California has skyrocketed in recent weeks, and is flirting with the dreaded $5 mark. According to AAA, the average price of regular gas in California was $4.84 on Saturday. That number was up about 25 cents from last Saturday and 44 cents from one month ago.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian long-range drones struck one of Russia´s biggest oil refineries for the second time in three days, a senior Kyiv official said Monday, as Ukraine tries to slow the Russian army´s push along parts of the front line and the third anniversary of the war approaches. The attack late Sunday hit a refinery in the Volgograd region, which is one of Russia´s 10 biggest refining facilities, processing close to 6% of the country´s oil, an official in Ukraine´s Security Service told The Associated Press. Russian authorities acknowledged only a brief fire at the Volgograd refinery during...

Two people are dead and at least 35 others were affected after a chemical leak involving hydrogen sulfide occurred at a PEMEX facility in Deer Park, officials said on Thursday. The extent of injuries is unknown due to officials not being able to make entry into the affected unit, officials said. Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton gave reassurance to community members that there was not a chemical leak in the surrounding area, despite the smell of hydrogen sulfide seeping out into the air. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the scene remains preliminary and fluid, but noted the "situation seems...

DEFIANCE, Ohio (WANE) — An area of southeast Defiance has been shut down due to an explosion at an oil refinery Wednesday afternoon. The explosion happened at the Glycerin Traders oil refinery plant in southeast Defiance. Around 4:15 p.m., the Defiance Police Department posted on Facebook warning residents to avoid the area of Columbia Street near Ottawa Avenue, Greenler Street and Sauers Avenue due to an “emergency situation.” An employee at Clifford R. Hunt Inc., a business located across the street from the explosion, told WANE 15 he could feel the explosion from his office and could see flames at...

(Story was posted only two hours ago) One of Russia’s biggest oil refineries has been blown up by Ukrainian drones in one of the most brazen attacks of the war to date. Footage shows unmanned aircraft raiding the refinery in broad daylight, easily bypassing air defences to crash into the distillation towers. These towers are the most crucial part of the plant and are expensive and difficult to replace. Each of the towers at Ryazan was hit multiple times during the onslaught on March 13. The refinery produces oil both for Russian consumption and as valuable exports to fuel Putin’s...

Ukrainian drones attacked a Rosneft-owned oil refinery in southern Russia in the latest such strike on Russian energy infrastructure, a Ukrainian source said on Thursday. Local officials in Russia said there was a fire overnight at the export-oriented unit in the town of Tuapse, but it was extinguished. "The vacuum unit was on fire. According to preliminary information, there were neither casualties nor injured," Sergei Boiko, the head of Tuapse district, said on Telegram. Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, has not commented. The Ukrainian source said the SBU security service hit the refinery with drones and would continue attacking facilities...

Iran International An oil refinery inside Iran went up in flames over the weekend, triggering several massive explosions. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, or IRNA, said that all 18 reservoirs at the refinery in eastern Iran’s Birjand special economic zone caught fire. “The initial stages of the fire consumed 1.5 million litres of fuel,” Iranian officials said. The Jerusalem Post reported that Iranian officials were leaning toward letting the fire burn itself out because it was too dangerous for firefighters to get close enough to attempt to extinguish it. There was no indication of what caused the fire or...

Evacuations and shelter-in-place orders were in effect for residents and businesses around an oil industry tank farm in Louisiana after part of it erupted in flames Saturday, producing a plume near the Lake Charles area. It wasn't clear what sparked the blaze at Calcasieu Refining Co. No injuries have been reported. The refinery did not answer phone calls seeking comment. Mandatory evacuations were in effect for those as far as a 1.5 miles from the tank farm; outer boundaries of a shelter-in-place order have been reduced from 5 miles to 3 miles, according to the Lake Charles Fire Department. In...

Near the Gulf Coast just east of Texas’ oil-rich Permian Basin, nearly 2,000 ExxonMobil contractors are making sure the company’s latest project – which includes 26 miles of piping, 35 miles of electrical wiring and 875 tons of steel – is pumping oil at full capacity. senior vice president of global operations detailed how the company’s Beaumont complex is not only fueling U.S. energy supply but also the economy. "When you put it all together and you look at this particular location, what I love about it, it allows us to buy what I consider to be very much needed,...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday announced that a large idled refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands will remain shut down until it acquires a new Clean Air Act permit amid a national diesel shortage. The St. Croix refinery, owned by West Indies Petroleum Limited and Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation, LLLC, has been shut down since June 2021 and will have to obtain a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit which would require the operators to provide detailed air quality analyses and use sophisticated air pollution control technology, according to the EPA press release. At the same time, the...

A fire broke out at the El Segundo Chevron refinery Tuesday night. Firefighters were battling the stubborn blaze at 7 p.m. The refinery is located at 324 W El Segundo Blvd., and covers approximately 1,000 acres. It wasn't immediately clear what initially ignited the fire.

went from 3.59 to 4.15 overnight. Any where else seen this??..

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has temporarily suspended a federal rule for fuel sales in four states, including Indiana, in response to a fire that occurred at an oil refinery in Indiana last week. It is feared that the incident may cause disruptions in both gas pricing and supply, AP reported. “As part of the Federal Government’s response to a fire and shutdown at the BP Whiting Refinery in Whiting, Indiana, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan today issued an emergency fuel waiver to help alleviate fuel shortages in four states whose supply of gasoline has been impacted...