Benicia Refinery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Benicia Refinery is an oil refinery located near the San Francisco Bay Area city of Benicia, California, United States. The refinery is owned by Valero Energy; however the company plans to cease operations in April 2026.[1][2]
The refinery was built in 1968 for Humble Oil and completed in 1969. Humble Oil changed its name to Exxon in 1972. Valero purchased the property in 2000. The Benicia Refinery has the capacity to process roughly 170,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is the sixth largest in California, accounting for about 9% of crude refining in the state.[3][4] There are about 400 workers employed at the refinery, making it one of the largest employers in the city of Benicia.[3]
In October 2024, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and California Air Resources Board issued an $82 million fine over air pollution violations at the Benicia Refinery, following a 2019 inspection, with the fine being the largest in the Air District's history.[5]
On April 16, 2025 Valero announced its intent to close the refinery, citing regulatory challenges as the main driver for the decision.[6] In 2026 the process was expected to be completed in April, but Valero will continue to supply imported gasoline for the transportation needs in Northern California communities.[2] In early 2026, the company's financial release noted the asset write-down associated with the closure "...we reduced the carrying values of the Benicia and Wilmington refineries to their estimated fair values and recognized a combined asset impairment loss of $1.1 billion in the year ended December 31, 2025" [7]
References
- ↑ Benicia Archived June 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- 1 2 "Valero will import fuel into the Bay Area after it idles Benicia refinery in April - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
- 1 2 Johnson, Julie (April 17, 2024). "Valero announces possible closure of its Benicia refinery". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
- ↑ Jao, Nicole (April 24, 2025). "Valero to shut Benicia refinery due to tough regulatory environment, high costs". Reuters. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ↑ "Bay Area Air District and CARB fine Valero Refining Co. $82 million for air quality violations". California Air Resources Board. October 31, 2024. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
- ↑ Stone, J.R. (April 17, 2025). "How would the potential closure of the Valero Benicia Refinery impact gas prices?". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
- ↑ Valero Energy Reports 2025 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results (January 29, 2026). "EX-99.01 FOURTH QUARTER 2025 EARNINGS RELEASE". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
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38°04′20″N 122°08′23″W / 38.07209°N 122.1396°W / 38.07209; -122.1396
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