From staff reports Phillips 66, an oil company founded in Bartlesville in 1917 by brothers Frank and L.E. Phillips but now based in Houston, Texas, announced Wednesday it plans to shut down a Los Angeles-area refinery by the end of 2025.
The refinery accounts for approximately 8% of California’s refining capacity, according to the state’s Energy Commission. The company said it will continue operating in the Golden State.
The company said it will replace its output with sources “inside and outside its refining network” and with renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels from a San Francisco Bay-area complex.
“With the long-term sustainability of our Los Angeles Refinery uncertain and affected by market dynamics” – such as the growth of electric vehicles and alternative fuels – “we are working with leading land development firms to evaluate the future use of our unique and strategically located properties near the Port of Los Angeles,” CEO Mark Lashier said in a statement. “Phillips 66 remains committed to serving California and will continue to take the necessary steps to meet our commercial and customer demands.”
The closure will affect 600 employees and 300 contractors who help operate the refinery, the company said in a news release.
The refinery consists of two facilities linked by pipeline located five miles apart in Wilmington and Carson. The Wilmington facility was built in 1919 and the Carson facility was built in 1923, according to the company’s website.
The company also operates a refinery near San Francisco that accounts for about 5% of California’s refining capacity, according to the state Energy Commission. Phillips 66 Santa Maria, a refinery that was located approximately 62 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, shut down in 2023 after the company announced plans to convert its San Francisco-area site into “one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities.”