Letter from San Francisco

This was Southern California’s first refinery, founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1911. Located in El Segundo near the Los Angeles International Airport and operated by Chevron, it was struck on Thursday, October 2, by a devastating explosion followed by a fire. The facility is now closed for at least two to four weeks, the time needed to assess the damage, explained Shon Hiatt, an energy specialist and professor at the University of Southern California, to Le Monde.

The price of a gallon of gasoline, already prohibitively high in California – averaging $4.65 compared to $3.13 in the rest of the United States – is expected to soar even higher. “We’ve already seen a price increase in the price of gallons about 10 cents (…) from the refinery closure. Our research suggests that it’s going to continue to increase for every [additional week of shutdown],” predicted Hiatt, who estimated that the price could reach between $6.50 and $8.50 per gallon by April 2026, depending on global oil market trends.

This is a calamity for Californians and a serious problem for the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, an unofficial candidate for the upcoming US presidential election who is set to face the full backlash of his anti-oil policies.

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