Manic Monday -- November 4, 2024

Locator: 48696B.

WTI: $71.20.

Tuesday, November 5, 2024: 8 for the month; 68 for the quarter, 582 for the year

• 40639, conf, CLR, Vandeberg 6-35H,
• 40309, conf, Hess, EN-Rice A-155-94-0310H-7,

Monday, November 4, 2024: 6 for the month; 66 for the quarter, 580 for the year

• None.

Sunday, November 3, 2024: 6 for the month; 66 for the quarter, 580 for the year

• 40640, conf, CLR, Christopherson 7-14H,

Saturday, November 2, 2024: 5 for the month; 65 for the quarter, 579 for the year

• 40641, conf, CLR, Vandeberg 7-35HSL,
• 39639, conf, Hess, TI-State-LN-158-95-3635H-1,  

Friday, November 1, 2024: 3 for the month; 63 for the quarter, 577 for the year

• 40293, conf,  Grayson Mill, Hovland 26-35 5H,
• 40291, conf, Grayson Mill, Hovland 26-35 XW 1H,
• 40246, conf, Empire North Dakota LLC, Pike 32-6 1H,

RBN Energy: what's behind the planned closure of Phillips 66's Los Angeles refinery? Archived.

Weak refining margins, rising regulatory compliance costs, softening demand for gasoline and the push for lower-carbon alternatives like batteries and renewable diesel have each contributed to a steady decline in California’s refining capacity the past few years. Now, Phillips 66’s plan to idle its 139-Mb/d Los Angeles Refinery in Q4 2025 will leave the Golden State with only seven conventional refineries producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel — a couple of dozen fewer than it had 40 years ago. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll put P66’s recent announcement in context and discuss the likelihood of additional refinery closures.

Bottom line:

In the meantime, there’s not much joy in California among either refiners or the tens of millions of customers who use their gasoline, diesel and other products. Retail prices for gasoline and diesel remain well above those in other states and are subject to occasional spikes, given the isolation of California’s refined-products market and the relative fragility of supply. And refiners? They not only face the frequent ire of retail customers, they also are subject to unrelenting scrutiny from California regulators and the possibility — even the likelihood — that still-stricter rules may be on the horizon.