Valero will import fuel into the Bay Area after it idles Benicia refinery in April

By Jose Fabian

Valero on Tuesday said it will continue to provide the Bay Area with gasoline even after it completely idles its Benicia refinery later this year.

It will begin to idle its processing units in February as part of a phased approach and expects to have most of its refining processing units idled by April 2026. 

Valero is Benicia’s largest employer as well as the city’s single largest source of tax revenue, and in its announcement, the company said it is preparing to submit a Worker Readjustment and Retraining Notification, as required by law. WARNS are required when a company with 75 or more employees lays off 50 or more employees in a 30-day period.

As for the impact on Bay Area drivers, Valero announced the company will import fuel into the region and use existing inventory to keep drivers supplied.

“Valero remains committed to fulfilling its contractual supply obligations in the California market and anticipates importing additional gasoline volumes to the Bay Area in the near term,” the company said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office touted the plan as one that will “help maintain steady supply and stable prices as discussions continue on a path forward for the refinery.”

“We’re in ongoing discussions with Valero to evaluate options for continued operations at the Benicia refinery and I appreciate the company planning responsibly, including planning for imports of refined products to supply the market in the meantime,” Newsom said.

How long Valero will import fuel into the region was not stated, and California and the California Energy Commission are still working on the refinery’s future.

“We want to express our appreciation to Valero for continuing to work with us collaboratively to evaluate options for the Valero Benicia refinery and for maintaining fuel supply to Northern California,” said Siva Gunda, CEC Vice Chair.

Ashwini Rao has lived in Benicia for about a year. During that time, the future of the refinery has been a big question. Now that they know the answers, they say a lot of people will feel the impact, good and bad.

“It does affect people, the local jobs, so definitely it’s a loss for people here,” said Rao. “But I do see a lot of pollution here happening, so that’s kind of better.”

Severin Borenstein, a professor at UC Berkeley and the faculty director of their energy institute, said he saw the move coming.

“The demand for Californian gasoline is declining, and refineries have been talking for a long time about their financial viability as California uses less and less gasoline,” Borenstein said.