50+ Environmental and Public Interest Groups Oppose CA Oil Refiner Bailout, Urge State to Stand Strong on Accountability, Says Consumer Watchdog

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As the California Energy Commission (CEC) proposed a list of oil refinery strategies to Governor Newsom, including key regulatory rollbacks, 51 public interest and environmental groups are urging the state to stand strong on refinery accountability and consumer protection in a letter to Governor Newsom, Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas.

Among the rollbacks proposed are a pause on developing the price gouging penalty rule enacted by the legislature in 2023 and increased oil well permitting in Kern County.

The groups pointed to new state data showing oil refiners making a killing off California consumers - with a combined gross refining margin and distribution margin of $1.71 in April, twice the national and historical averages.

"California oil refiners do not need a bailout. New data posted by the California Energy Commission shows oil refiners made a retail gross refining profit margin of $1.02 per gallon in April," the groups wrote in the letter. "In addition, the data shows that the distribution margin, which includes the Mystery Gasoline Surcharge, was .69 cents per gallon in April. Combined these extraordinary profit and overhead costs add more to a gallon of gasoline than the cost of crude oil, as CEC created graphic below shows."

"California's oil refining and distribution sector are charging Californians more than double what they take in elsewhere. It would be perverse to give this industry more subsidies."

The groups include:

     Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments            
     Ocean Conservations Research


     Biofuelwatch                                           
     Oil and Gas Action Network


     California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice 
     Pacifica Climate Committee


     Center for Biological Diversity                        
     Pelican Media


     Center for Environmental Health                        
     PowerCA Action


     CERBAT                                                 
     Resource Renewal Institute


     Clean Water Action                                     
     Rise Economy


     Climate Hawks Vote                                     
     Rodeo Citizens Association


     Climate Health Now                                     
     RootsAction


     Climate Reality Project Orange County Chapter            San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social
                                                                Responsibility


     Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley Chapter   
     SanDiego350


     Consumer Watchdog                                      
     Santa Cruz Climate Action Network


     ContraCosta MoveOn                                     
     SEE (Social Eco Education)


     Courage California                                     
     Sierra Club California


     Elected Officials to Protect America                   
     Sunflower Alliance


     Climate Justice Action, First UU of SD                 
     Sustainable Mill


     Food & Water Watch                                     
     The Climate Reality Project San Diego


     Friends Committee on Legislation of California         
     Transition Sebastopol


     Glendale Environmental Coalition                       
     Voting 4 Climate & Health


     Greenpeace                                               West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe
                                                                Jobs


     Indivisible Marin                                      
     Working Families Party


     Local Clean Energy Alliance                            
     350 Bay Area Action


     Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy                   
     350 Humboldt

                                                             
     350 Sacramento

                                                             
     350 Santa Barbara

"We urge you, instead, to insist that the Administration finish the job it started and that the legislature directed it to do in special sessions in 2023 and 2024: propound rules for a price gouging penalty, finalize and enforce the ABX2-1 re-supply inventory rule and begin the minimum inventory rule-making. In addition, we call on you to reject rollbacks to refinery process safety management (PSM) rules which protect refinery workers and communities while preventing sudden outages that trigger price shocks."

The gross margins are what the refiners keep after the cost of crude oil, environmental fees, and taxes are deducted. The only refiner cost included in the gross margin is the operating costs for the refinery, which are reported by the refiners to the SEC at about 20 cents per gallon.

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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog