Californians just received terrible news.
Marathon Martinez, one of their major refineries, announced that it will go idle indefinitely. This will cost the Golden State thousands of jobs and hamper its economic recovery.
Californians already suffer the highest fuel costs in the continental United States. The loss of this refinery will make energy even more scarce and expensive.
Energy analyst Ron Stein reports at CFACT.org:
With the state being both an energy island and an energy hog, California is heavily dependent on in-state manufacturing for its fuel demands. California is an “energy island” situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Arizona/Nevada Stateline, with no existing pipelines over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The state is inhabited by roughly 40 million citizens and is an energy hog demanding more than 65 million gallons of various transportation fuels daily from suppliers to drive (no pun intended) the 5th largest economy in the world…
Over the years, we have all seen the impact on California fuel prices when one of the few refinery manufacturers goes down for maintenance, or what the industry refers to as a ’turnaround’. Gas prices spike during these temporary outages, but with Marathon going idle indefinitely, the outage will NOT be temporary, but permanent.
High energy prices and bad government policy hit the poor hardest. They are exacerbating a mass exodus from California. U-Haul reported that it costs significantly more to book a move from California to Texas than the other way around. Anyone moving into California receives a sweet, yet frightening discount.
Californians are starved for affordable, efficient energy. The loss of this crucial refinery is a blow they can ill afford.