PHOENIX — Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs is promising to take action to keep gas prices from rising when a California refinery shuts down next year.
A fire at that same refinery in Benicia, California, last week has affected gas supplies in the western states that depend on fuel from California. Prices around metro Phoenix are up by about 20 cents since last week, according to data from AAA Arizona.
Valero announced last month it would close the refinery in the Bay Area in April 2026, citing high costs and California’s environmental laws.
Gov. Katie Hobbs said Tuesday that her administration is aware of the impending closure and is talking with California’s governor.
“We’re in constant communication and doing everything we can to take proactive steps when it comes to ensuring that our gas doesn’t get more expensive,” she said.
Another refinery in Los Angeles is closing later this year. Together with the Benicia refinery, California will lose 309,000 barrels per day in refining capacity, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan.
Because Arizona does not have any refineries, it depends on gas from out of state. Fuel sold in the Valley and northern Arizona is brought in from California, a AAA Arizona spokesman told ABC15 in a statement.
“Since California supplies fuel for much of the Southwest, the supply and demand situation in that state will likely have an impact on the region as a whole,” AAA Arizona spokesperson Julian Paredes said.
Jodie Muller, the chief operation officer and senior vice president of governmental affairs for the Western States Petroleum Association, told lawmakers on a Senate panel in March that the infrastructure for bringing fuel to metro Phoenix hasn’t been expanded in decades.
“It’s transported via constrained, allocated pipeline system,” she said. “There’s limited backup for truck and rail.”
AAA Arizona notes that gas prices around the country tend to rise as we near the summer travel season, when the demand for gas peaks.
And prices in Maricopa County are still much lower than a year ago, when they were topping $4 per gallon.
“The good news is that the biggest factor for gas prices is the cost of oil, and that is cheaper right now,” Paredes said. “Gas prices in Arizona are significantly less expensive than last year.”
