SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Thirty years in the past, Willie Cruz was shocked when he realized the Southern California oil refinery the place he labored was shutting down.
Cruz, now a 61-year-old dwelling in Arizona, had spent 5 years working within the environmental division when Powerine Oil Firm stated it might shut the plant in Santa Fe Springs, southeast of Los Angeles.
Cruz feared getting laid off once more if he stayed within the trade. He determined to look into respiratory remedy, partially as a result of he’s asthmatic. A federal job coaching program paid for his education.
“I assumed it was fairly cool, you realize — go from polluting to serving to, proper?” Cruz stated.
Now he is advising his son, Wilfredo Cruz, because the Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles the place the 37-year-old has labored for 12 years plans to shut by the tip of the month.
1000’s — maybe tens of 1000’s — of employees may lose jobs within the coming years as California tries to cut back its reliance on fossil fuels. Power firm Valero stated earlier this yr it might shut a refinery within the Bay Space.
California’s main Democrats are grappling with tips on how to confront misplaced jobs and excessive fuel costs that the oil trade says are the results of the state’s local weather insurance policies.
State power regulators are negotiating to maintain the Valero plant open and just lately backed off a proposal to penalize oil companies for top income, whereas Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws to hurry oil properly allowing within the Central Valley. That motion got here after years of Newsom declaring he was “taking over huge oil.”
That inconsistent messaging has left the trade’s employees uncertain of what the longer term holds.
California was the eighth-largest crude oil producer within the nation in 2024, down from being the third-largest in 2014, in keeping with the U.S. Power Info Administration. The Valero and Phillips 66 refineries set to shut account for roughly 18% of California’s refining capability, in keeping with state power regulators. They each produce jet gasoline, fuel and diesel.
The Phillips 66 refinery will begin shutting down this month and finish energetic gasoline manufacturing on the finish of 2025, the corporate stated. The closure is predicated on a number of components and “in response to market dynamics,” Phillips 66 stated.
The announcement got here after Newsom signed a legislation final yr aimed toward preventing gas price spikes that enables power regulators to require that refineries preserve a specific amount of gasoline available to keep away from shortages once they go offline for upkeep. However the firm stated its resolution was unrelated to the legislation.
Valero pays about $7.7 million yearly in taxes to town, making up round 13% of Benicia’s revenues, Metropolis Supervisor Mario Giuliani stated.
“It’s a big and seismic impression to town,” he stated of the deliberate closure.
Forty-six oil refineries in California closed between 2018 and 2024, in keeping with the state’s Employment Growth Division. The fossil gasoline trade employs roughly 94,000 individuals within the state, in keeping with the Public Coverage Institute of California.
One research estimated that the state would lose almost 58,000 employees within the oil and fuel industries between 2021 and 2030. About 56% of these employees must discover new jobs as a result of they aren’t retiring, in keeping with the 2021 report by the Political Financial system Analysis Institute on the College of Massachusetts Amherst.
However the funding is about to expire in 2027, and state lawmakers wrapped up their work for the yr with out an settlement on whether or not to increase it.
Newsom spokesperson Daniel Villaseñor stated the governor is dedicated to supporting displaced oil employees “and affected communities in transitioning into new and rising jobs and financial alternatives.”
Newsom authorized $20 million within the state’s 2022-2023 finances for a pilot program to coach employees within the trade who’ve misplaced their jobs to plug abandoned oil wells in Kern and Los Angeles counties.
California wants a transparent plan for employees who will lose jobs due to the state’s power transition, stated Faraz Rizvi, the coverage and marketing campaign supervisor on the Asian Pacific Environmental Community.
“We’re in solidarity with employees who’ve been displaced and who’re in search of a aid to make sure that they’re capable of finding work that’s necessary for his or her communities,” Rizvi stated.
However Jodie Muller, president and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Affiliation, stated the state can shield jobs by altering its local weather insurance policies.
“The extremists combating to shut California refineries ought to clarify why they’re OK with destroying among the greatest blue-collar jobs on the market — as a result of we definitely will not be,” she stated in an announcement.
For a lot of employees, the trade gives a possibility to earn a dwelling wage with out a faculty diploma.
Wilfredo Cruz was attracted partially by the paycheck. After greater than a decade, he makes a base wage of $118,000 a yr as a pipe fitter on the Phillips 66 refinery.
However there are downsides.
Each day when Cruz will get residence from work, he showers instantly to attempt to defend his son from publicity to any dangerous chemical compounds. He additionally by no means lets the 2-year-old journey within the automobile he takes to work.
Now he is enrolled in a web-based cybersecurity coaching course, education paid for by the state program that is set to run out within the subsequent couple of years.
“There’s probably not an actual clear plan to have the ability to get employees from this oil trade into these new fields,” he stated. “So, you’re feeling type of forgotten.”
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