(Reuters) Phillips 66 will begin shuttering its 139,000-barrel-per-day Los Angeles-area refinery in September, people familiar with the matter said.
The Los Angeles-area refinery will start winding down operations for permanent closure as early as next week, two sources said.
Phillips 66 announced last year that it would close the facility and begin winding down operations by October 2025.
"The refinery units will begin idling by Q4 2025 as planned... our timeline remains unchanged," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Thursday. The company did not provide a more detailed timeline but noted that the process of idling the facilities requires a complex, multi-phased approach.
The refiner is expected to lay off most workers at the refinery in December. The Los Angeles-area facility has about 600 employees and 300 contractors. Over half of the employees are hourly workers represented by the United Steelworkers Union.
The company declined to comment on the status of its employees.
Phillips 66's exit will leave a void in motor fuel supply in California, the most populous U.S. state. The state consistently experiences some of the nation's highest average gas prices, leading to an often tense relationship between the state and oil companies.
Valero Energy also announced its intention to close the 145,000-bpd Benicia refinery, one of its two remaining refineries in the state.
The two closing refineries produce roughly 20% of the state’s gasoline supply.
