California ports expose the state as a national security risk to America

California is isolated by the Rocky and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. Because of these natural barriers and the fact that California has always met its own transportation fuel production needs, pipelines were never run into the state from the rest of the country. This effectively makes California an energy island.

California consumes 65 million gallons per day of fuel. These fuels include jet fuel, diesel fuel, and 3 grades of gasoline. California policies have forced the state to import over 1/3 of its gasoline transportation fuels or nearly 20 million gallons per day from overseas countries like Singapore, South Korea, India, and China. The importation of transportation fuels from foreign countries has resulted in significant risks to both our civilian populations and military in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

With the recent closure of 2 refineries, Phillips and Valero, California policymakers should note that the refineries in these foreign countries do not have emission standards that are anywhere near the level that exists with California refineries. In addition, the numerous ships that are required to ship transportation fuels to California have high emissions. For 35 – 45 days these ships emit high levels of pollution while transiting the vast Pacific Ocean.

Infrastructure llimitations

California's three major ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland cannot store or handle the importation of large volumes of transportation fuels from offshore refineries. In the event all remaining 7 in-state refineries close, and the huge property footprints are converted to commercial usage or to California affordable housing, it would take upwards of 6,000 to 7,000 tanker trucks PER DAY to move this volume of imported transportation fuels from the ports.

The infrastructure at the ports to import humongous volumes of transportation fuels does not exist.

• Nor do the ports' abilities to handle the volume of tanker trucks PER DAY to move that fuel,
• Nor would citizens tolerate that number of tanker trucks on the California freeways.
• Nor would CALTRANS be excited about that much flammable fuel transversing the California freeways.

Letters to Governor Newsom from PBF, Chevron, and Marathon:

Between February 25 to March 9, 2026, these three corporations, representing 6 of the largest remaining refineries in California, dispatched letters to the Governor and the California Air Resource Board (CARB).

While the letters had varying content they all shared two things in Common.

1. CARB needed to sit down with the corporations to negotiate the terms of newly proposed Cap and Invest amendments.
2. If they refused, then all three corporations would seriously look at shutting down their refineries, six in total, as Phillips 66 and Valero did and leave the state.

If the major operating refineries make good on their warnings to the Governor, then California would see a total economic collapse. This would result in the following: