The West Coast (PADD 5), particularly California, has been the U.S. region hardest hit by the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, particularly regarding the Golden State’s ability to obtain refined product imports. California has endured a string of refinery shutdowns in recent years and more are expected in the future, making imports — especially of jet fuel and gasoline — critical to meeting regional demand. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss how the strait’s closure has impacted PADD 5 imports.
We should note at the outset that reopening the strait was a key condition of the two-week cease-fire announced by the U.S. and Iran on April 7, but vessel traffic remained very limited after the agreement. Some hopeful signs appeared on April 17 with the declaration by Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on X that Iran had fully opened the strait for commercial traffic due to the cease-fire negotiated between Israel and Lebanon. How “open” it really is — and whether it can be sustained — remains highly uncertain.
The war against Iran not only created a chokepoint for global shipping at the Strait of Hormuz, it also directly hit the flows of refined products and LPG that underpin the Pacific Basin fuel market. As we discussed in Eyes of the Ranger, with the strait effectively blocked to virtually all shipping for the last several weeks, large volumes of crude oil, LPG, naphtha and refined products bound for Asia were suddenly stranded, forcing refiners in South Korea and elsewhere to cut runs and curb gasoline and jet fuel exports.
The disruptions caused by the war have been a much bigger deal for PADD 5 than other areas of the U.S. Refining capacity in the West Coast region has shrunk faster than demand in recent years, and the region has increasingly leaned on imported gasoline and jet fuel from Asia to cover shortfalls. But the strait’s closure squeezed the Pacific product pool and caused Asian suppliers to pull back, further tightening the PADD 5 market for gasoline and jet fuel. There have been several major changes in California’s refining sector in recent years, including conversions to renewable fuel production and outright closures:
Conversions
- Marathon Martinez: Marathon’s Martinez refinery, a roughly 150-160 Mb/d crude unit, stopped production in 2020 and began producing renewable diesel (RD) in late 2022, ramping to full renewable‑fuels capacity through 2023-24. This conversion permanently removed a big chunk of gasoline‑making capacity from the Bay Area.
- Phillips 66 Rodeo/Santa Maria: Phillips 66 (P66) stopped processing crude at its former 80-Mb/d refinery in Rodeo (also near San Francisco) in February 2024, switching to renewable fuels feedstocks to produce RD and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Earlier, in 2023, P66 closed its Santa Maria refinery on California's central coast. This refinery had a capacity of 40 Mb/d and was operating together with Rodeo and the total lost capacity of the combined complex was 120 Mb/d.
While some parts of the converted facilities continue operating, they no longer produce conventional transportation fuels, effectively removing a substantial share of in-state gasoline supply, with their SAF production only partially replacing the lost conventional jet fuel.
Closures
- P66 Carson/Wilmington: P66 announced in October 2024 that its Los Angeles-area refinery complex would close in Q4 2025; it ultimately shut in November 2025.
- Valero Benicia: Valero announced in April 2025 that it planned to cease operations at its 150-Mb/d Bay Area refinery in Benicia within a year. It ceased operations in February 2026.
This means California has lost about 575 Mb/d of conventional refining capacity from closures or conversions, resulting in a significant supply drop in an already constrained market. These losses are driving a structural shift. Total imports of transportation fuels into PADD 5 climbed to more than 300 Mb/d in October and November (dashed red box in Figure 1 below), coinciding with the P66 Los Angeles refinery closure and increased reliance on foreign supplies into California. Most of the growth was in gasoline (green bar segments) and jet fuel (blue bar segments), while imports of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD; yellow bar segments) were not a big driver. The import surge aligned not only with the P66 changes but also with ongoing disruptions at other California refineries, especially PBF’s Martinez (Bay Area) plant, which was fully shut after a February 2025 fire at its cat feed (VGO) hydrotreater and has been running at only 85-105 Mb/d since early Q2 2025 (compared with its nameplate capacity of about 157 Mb/d). That refinery is only just now returning to full rates. As refinery runs gradually recovered from fall maintenance and Martinez edged toward full operation, imports pulled back in December and January but remained ahead of year-ago rates.
Figure 1. PADD 5 Import of Transportation Fuels By Type. Source: EIA, RBN
Trump Administration Could Spare Funding for Most Hydrogen Hubs: Report
Federal funding for five of the seven regional hydrogen hubs and other energy-related projects that had been in line for termination could instead be preserved following a review by the Trump administration, according to Bloomberg, which cited a 39-page list of about 2,000 projects the Department of Energy said it plans to “retain or modify.”
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About the song
“I Need More” was written by Iggy Pop and Glen Matlock. It appears as the second song on side two of Iggy Pop’s fourth solo studio album, Soldier. “I Need More” would later be used for the title of Pop’s autobiography, published in 1982. The song’s lyrics address the frustrations of dealing with the status quo while searching for something beyond the ordinary grind. Personnel on the record were: Iggy Pop (vocals), Glen Matlock (bass, backing vocals), Steve New (lead guitar), Ivan Krall (guitar, keyboards), Barry Andrews (keyboards) and Klaus Kruger (drums).
Soldier was an album made under strange circumstances, including fights, drugs, jealousy, revenge and hurt feelings, all thrown in the mix. Ex-Stooges guitarist James Williamson was originally slated to be the producer of the album. He felt there was not an album’s worth of good material, and a disagreement with Pop’s friend and album overseer, David Bowie, led to Williamson walking away from the project. Lead guitarist Steve New took offense to Bowie hitting on his girlfriend, Patti Palladin, in the studio, so he punched Bowie during an argument. New’s lead guitar work on Soldier would later be missing on the final mix of the album, due, according to Glen Matlock, to Pop’s holding a grudge against New for punching Bowie. The album was recorded at Rockfield in Rockfield, Wales, in August 1979. Produced by Pat Moran, it was released in February 1980 and went to #125 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Three videos and two singles were released from the LP.
Iggy Pop (James Newell Osterberg Jr.) is an American rock singer, musician, songwriter and actor who is often regarded as the godfather of punk music. He started his professional career as the drummer for the Detroit blues-rock band The Iguanas. He formed The Stooges in 1967 in Detroit. The band’s unruly, chaotic performances laid the blueprint for punk rock performances in the future. Pop started his solo career in 1977, when David Bowie produced his first two albums and played keyboards in his live band. He has released 20 studio albums, six live albums, eight soundtrack albums, eight compilation albums, an EP, and 69 singles as a solo artist. With The Stooges, he released five studio albums, 14 live albums, nine compilation albums, an EP, and 24 singles. He has won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a French Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, and a Polar Music Prize, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Stooges in March 2010. He has appeared in several motion pictures and television shows. Pop still records and tours and will be appearing at select festival dates during the summer of 2026.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
