Phillips 66 will shut historic Wilmington-area refinery complex

Phillips 66 announced Wednesday that it will shut its historic Wilmington-area oil refinery complex but will work with the state to continue supplying fuel to consumers.

The refinery near the Port of Los Angeles will cease operations in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the company saying it will replace its output with sources “inside and outside its refining network” and with renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels from a San Francisco Bay-area complex.

“Phillips 66 remains committed to serving California and will continue to take the necessary steps to meet our commercial and customer demands,” said Mark Lashier, chairman and chief executive of Phillips 66. “We understand this decision has an impact on our employees, contractors and the broader community. We will work to help and support them through this transition.”

About 600 employees and 300 contractors currently operate the refinery, the company said.

The refinery complex consists of two facilities linked by pipeline located five miles apart in Wilmington and Carson, about 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The Carson facility was built in 1923 and the Wilmington facility was built in 1919, according to the company’s website.

“There’s no question we are going to lose refineries over time, because demand is going to go down as we transition to electric vehicles, but I did not expect to see any of them exiting this quickly,” said Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the Energy Institute at U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

California “over the medium term” will now have to rely more on imports, he said. “I think part of the response the state’s going to need to consider is how to make sure that we can import sufficient gasoline to meet our needs.”

Phillips 66 said it has has engaged Catellus Development Corp. and Deca Cos. to examine future uses for the 650-acre site near the Port of Los Angeles.

“Historically, the South Bay industrial real estate market has been extremely tight and this will allow a ton of new inventory and capacity that should help the market by providing more warehouse and distribution space around the port,” said real estate broker Mike Condon Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield, who helped manage the process of selecting a development partner for Phillips 66.

The announcement comes the same week Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new state law that could lower gasoline price spikes by giving regulators the authority to require that California oil refiners store more inventory.

The company, based in Houston, also has been the subject of controversy over its role in climate change, leading to calls for the removal of its iconic “76” sign at Dodger Stadium.

In the second quarter, Phillips 66 posted net income of $1.02 billion, down 40% from the same period a year ago. Shares have dropped 17% in the last six months. They closed Wednesday at $132.31, up nearly 1%.

Times staff writer Roger Vincent contributed to this report.