California is now going to face its first real test of the energy crisis stemming from America’s conflict with Iran and exacerbated by the state’s green-energy policies.
The last oil tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began arrived at the Port of Long Beach with two million barrels of oil for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Prior to this, the Golden State and other states were able to withstand eye-popping pressures on the energy supply as slow-moving ships that left the Middle East right before the war made their journeys as usual.
Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq’s southern offshore oil terminals REUTERS
A tanker docks at Port of Long Beach. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Even then, Californians still felt some pressure, including record-high fuel prices. Those journeys have come to an end.
Hong Kong’s ship New Corolla, which loaded up on oil in February, will soon depart, and the state will have to figure out how to make up for 200,000 barrels of oil a day it got from the Middle East. Last year, California refineries sourced around 25-30% of their crude from the Middle East based on state data.
President Donald Trump is attempting to turn the Strait of Hormuz back on after Iran took it hostage for the war. The US will begin to guide stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after a cargo ship came under attack near the waterway, President Trump announced Sunday.
California is particularly vulnerable in this situation, as its status as an isolated energy island without gas pipelines has led it to increasingly rely on imports.
A few weeks ago, a number of Democratic and Republican state lawmakers sounded the alarm on the impending emergency — and blasted California’s energy authorities for not having a plan.
“We are demanding an emergency plan to deal with this fuel crisis,” Assemblymember David Alvarez (D) said at a press conference.
Assemblymember David Alvarez California State Assembly Democratic Caucus
“Our request — demand, I would say at this point — highlights past due reports, some well over a year, that are due and required to be presented to the legislature.”
They noted how countries such as the Philippines or South Korea, where shortages have already hit, have taken unprecedented action such as calling on citizens to cut back on gas or declaring a national gas emergency to secure imports in other ways.
Others blasted state Democratic leaders for putting California in a situation heavily reliant on imports. Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton noted that the state’s climate policies have discouraged oil production in the state and led to refinery closures.
“They’ve been shutting down our oil and gas industry in California in the name of climate but actually it’s had no impact on global temperatures,” Hilton told the Post, “because we’ve been importing oil and gas from halfway around the world.”
Instead, Hilton said, the state should be encouraging oil and gas production in the state. Even now, Democratic leaders such as Gov. Gavin Newsom have been fighting one oil company from restarting its operations.
The California Energy Commission told the LA Times it is “working closely with refiners” and is “aware they are identifying and using alternate routes and sources of crude” outside the Middle East.
The commission added it was confident in the state’s oil supply outlook for the next six weeks.
“We expect to see increased imports in June as the market adapts to the new supply reality resulting from the conflict in Iran,” a spokesman said.
Jamie Lewis, an oil analyst with Wood Mackenzie, said fuel prices will increase sharply first before any shortages happen as the state’s supply becomes even more constrained.
Potential solutions to ease the pain, lawmakers have pointed out, include loosening fuel blend regulations.
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