California Facing $8.43/gallon Gas – a 75% Increase – as Refineries Close

“California can ill afford the loss of one refinery, let alone two,” says USC Professor Michael Mische in a new report warning of an impending gas crisis this summer.

“In 1982, California satisfied 62% of its petroleum needs from in-state oil producers,” says Professor Mische. “Since 1990, California’s imports of petroleum from non-U.S. producers have increased by a staggering 713%. While California was becoming more dependent on foreign sources, the overall U.S. became less dependent.”

In March, the Globe reported on a study also by Professor Mische which found that the factors contributing to California’s high gasoline prices over 50-years are self-imposed by state officials and politicians. It turns out that California is its own worst enemy.

In April we reported that California’s average price for a gallon of gas was $4.918, while the national average cost for a gallon of gas was $3.260. In Texas that same gallon gas cost $2.87.

Oil and gas and California refiners “have not engaged in widespread price gouging, profiteering, price manipulation, ‘unexplained residual prices’ or surcharges, magical or otherwise,” Professor Mische said in the March report.

Now Mische warns that California gas prices could escalate 75% to $8.43 per gallon in 2026 due to the pending shutdowns of two major in-state refineries.