California Refinery Closures: Who Will Buy Sable's Offshore Oil?

Which California refineries have closed?

Valero stopped fuel production at its 145,000 barrels-a-day Benicia refinery near San Francisco this spring, after idling units in phases during the first three months of 2026, Argus reported on 30 April ^[2]. Together with the closure of Phillips 66's Los Angeles refinery at the end of 2025, California has lost 17% of its refining capacity ^[2,3]. Valero said the state's regulatory environment was "the most stringent and difficult in North America" and planned to import more gasoline to meet its supply contracts ^[2,3]. When it announced the closure in April 2025, Valero recorded a $1.1 billion pre-tax impairment on its California refineries ^[4].

California now has 11 refineries with about 1.34 million barrels a day of crude capacity, according to the state's July 2026 listing cited by OilPrice.com ^[1].

How much does California depend on imports?

Increasingly so. California crude production was about 245,000 barrels a day through August 2026, down from about 550,000 in 2015, and foreign suppliers provided 61% of refinery feedstock in 2025 ^[1]. Seaborne crude imports averaged about 890,000 barrels a day in 2026, and Latin American crude made up 72% of the state's oil imports in October ^[1]. Imports of finished products averaged 270,000 barrels a day in March and April, and shipments of products from the US Gulf Coast reached a record 70,000 barrels a day in May to October under a Jones Act waiver that expires on 15 November ^[1].

Why is Sable Offshore struggling to sell its oil?

Sable Offshore restarted pipeline shipments from the Santa Ynez Unit off Santa Barbara in March after Energy Secretary Chris Wright invoked the Defense Production Act ^[1]. But Chevron, its only customer, stopped buying in early October ^[1]. The crude is heavy and sour, about 15–20° API with 4–5% sulphur, and fewer local refineries can run it ^[1]. Sable's shares fell more than half on 9 November to a record low of 76 cents; it ended September with $38 million in cash against fourth-quarter spending budgeted at $165–175 million ^[1]. Sable forecasts about 10,000 barrels a day from the Hondo platform from December ^[1].

What to watch

• The Jones Act waiver, which expires on 15 November and has supported Gulf Coast product shipments to the West Coast ^[1].
• A buyer for Sable's crude, or its alternative shipping plan, estimated at about $475 million ^[1].
• Further closures. Valero's 135,000 barrels-a-day Wilmington refinery continues to operate ^[3].

Alupetra supplies crude and refined products to import-dependent markets and follows refinery closures that change trade flows.