Phillips 66 to begin winding down Los Angeles-area refinery next week, sources say

Nicole Jao

New York (Reuters) -Phillips 66, familiar with the issue, said that in September, 139,000 barrels of Los Angeles region will begin to close the refinery.

The two sources said the refinery of the Los Angeles region will begin to demolish operations for permanent closure at the beginning of next week.

Phillips 66 announced last year that it will close the facility until October 2025 and will begin to demolish operations.

“Refinery units will begin in the 4th quarter as planned … Our timeline remained unchanged,” He said. The company did not provide a more detailed time schedule, but the process of keeping the facilities at the idling requires a complex, multi -stage approach.

Rafiner is expected to dismiss most workers in the refinery in December. The Los Angeles region has approximately 600 employees and 300 contractors. More than half of the employees are hourly workers represented by the United Steelworks Association.

The company refused to comment on the situation of its employees.

The output of the Phillips 66 will leave a gap in the engine fuel source in California, the most crowded US state. The state continuously experiences some of the country’s highest average gas prices and often causes a tense relationship between state and oil companies.

Valero Energy also announced the intention of closing the 145,000-BPD Benicia refinery, one of the two remaining refineries in the state.

The two closing refinery produce approximately 20% of the state’s gas supply.

(Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York; Additional Reporting by Shariq Khan; Editing by Franklin Paul)