Three months after Valero Refining Firm-California submitted discover to the California Vitality Fee of its intent to idle and stop operations in April of 2026, Benicia leaders are nonetheless trying to find options.
Nonetheless, Benicia Metropolis Supervisor Mario Giuliani mentioned “time is of the essence” as some deadlines are quick approaching this month in an try to maintain the refinery in Benicia.
“The city has been working diligently to find solutions to this depth of a loss,” Giuliani mentioned on Wednesday. “We have multiple task forces talking. We’re trying to prepare for the huge revenue loss to the city, but overall still communicating and forming action plans.”
Giuliani mentioned Benicia has partnered with Tyler Munis to course of and consider the state of affairs.
“The city is preparing to have a significant and seismic shift with losses,” Giuliani mentioned. “There is a potential of a $10 million loss on a $16 million budget.”
A drone view of the Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, Calif., on Thursday, Might 1, 2025. The refinery is scheduled to shut by April 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Space Information Group)
Nonetheless, simply two years later, the California Vitality Fee Vice Chair, Siva Gunda, mentioned that the state ought to pause the trouble in favor of pursuing different insurance policies to decrease costs and preserve a gentle oil provide.
In the meantime California authorities officers are looking for a purchaser for the refinery. Giuliani mentioned that shedding the refinery would put California in “a crisis for 2026.”
“California will not have a significant fuel supply to meet demand,” Giuliani instructed the Instances-Herald on Wednesday. “All the other refineries are planning to leave as well, so we that doesn’t help. There is a declining demand for fossil fuel, but still enough of a demand that we need it.”
Valero Vitality Company has owned and operated the Benicia Refinery since 2000. The refinery was initially constructed for Humble Oil, later referred to as Exxon. Development of the power started in 1968 and was accomplished in 1969.
Valero Vitality Company, by its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is a multinational producer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical merchandise, and sells its merchandise primarily in the US, Canada, the UK, Eire and Latin America.
Valero owns 15 petroleum refineries positioned within the U.S., Canada and the U.Ok. with a mixed throughput capability of roughly 3.2 million barrels per day.
Valero Headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, and has greater than 9,900 staff, with roughly 400 on the Benicia venue. That refinery has a throughput capability of 170,000 barrels per day, in accordance with the corporate. In accordance with an inventory from the California Vitality Fee, Benicia has 8.94 % of the state’s crude oil capability.
In reference to the analysis of strategic alternate options for Valero’s operations in California, a mixed pre-tax impairment cost of $1.1 billion was recorded for the Benicia and Wilmington refineries, and is anticipated to be handled as a particular merchandise and excluded from first quarter 2025 adjusted earnings. Additionally included on this quantity is the popularity of anticipated asset retirement obligations of $337 million as of March 31.
“We lost the Benicia Arsenal and Benicia Barracks in the mid 1960’s, but we came back with an industrial park on that land,” Giuliani mentioned. “However we additionally have to face actuality as we might be dealing with a interval of austerity and we have to proceed with motion and discover new progress for our metropolis.
“This is now a state issue and the state does not want to see this happen,” town supervisor continued. “Conversations are continuing and there is certainly a chance that Valero stays, but time is of the essence. There is no deadline, but we’re talking about an amount of days were key points need to take place.”
Giuliani mentioned that Benicia is at a crossroads.
“We’re tackling and fighting a war on two fronts,” town supervisor mentioned. “We’re fighting problems of the past while also fighting this problem with the refinery that instead of fighting ten years down the road, we are fighting now.”
Town of Benicia was given a shelter-in-place alert and areas south of the Valero Refinery had been evacuated after an influence outage prompted a flare up sending plumes of black smoke throughout Interstate 680. – Chris Riley — Instances-Herald
Whereas Valero is an enormous a part of Benicia enterprise, is it not with out its critics — significantly after the refinery turned the positioning of a collection of air air pollution incidents. This features a hydrogen vent on the refinery that had been leaking 2.7 tons of toxics into the air for 15 years. That discovery resulted in an historic $84 million advantageous imposed by the Bay Space Air High quality Administration District (an oversight company) in 2024.
Critics additionally level to inspectors reporting that Valero administration had recognized in regards to the leaks for years, however did not report them or take steps to mitigate the leak. The advantageous reportedly was the biggest penalty ever assessed by the district.
Valero was one in every of 4 different refineries that in 2023 didn’t meet necessities as outlined by BAAQMD and Rule 12-15. That rule — handed in 2016 — requires refineries to observe and report fugitive gasses from their working gear, similar to valves, compressors, and storage tanks. These emissions impression the well being of the encircling communities — the poisonous gases launched embrace noxious chemical compounds just like the cancer-causing benzene.
The Benicia Metropolis Council on April 2 voted 5-0 on a security ordinance that goals to assist shield Benicians towards potential fires, explosions and poisonous emissions related to the Valero Refinery and different services inflicting well being issues within the metropolis. Earlier than the vote, Benicia was beforehand the one Bay Space refinery city to not but have an Industrial Security Ordinance.
Initially Revealed: July 24, 2025 at 5:40 AM PDT
