Rep. Vince Fong says California’s oil and gas issues are a national security risk | California Politics 360
“We have an energy crisis in our state,” Fong said, noting California’s lack of supply also impacts neighboring states Nevada and Arizona.
Two refineries in California are winding down their operations. Philip 66 in Los Angeles County is set to shut down completely in *** few weeks, and Valero in the Bay Area will stop operations in April. Republican Congressman Vince Fong, who represents parts of the Central Valley, including Bakersfield, joins us now on California Politics 360. Congressman Fong, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. Good to see you, Ashley. So Congressman Fong, you recently warned in an op ed about how California’s loss of oil supply in the new year is *** national security risk. What did you mean by that? Well, I mean, we have, we have an energy crisis in our state. We’ve we’ve known that for *** while when I served in the state legislature, the affordability crisis, uh, one of the biggest frustrations was the, the price of gasoline and electricity. And now we, as we were moving forward, uh, the states of Arizona and Nevada are, are very concerned about their gasoline supply. Uh, if refineries begin to close, we’re gonna lose 20% of our refining capacity pretty much overnight. And now with this new report coming out from Um, from the University of Southern California in partnership with Assembly member Stan Ellis, we now are looking at *** national security crisis. Uh, the, the jet fuel, the diesel, the gasoline that powers our military is created and and and and formulated by our refineries. You look at the, the, the refinery in the Valero, they are one of the major jet fuel providers to *** lot of the military installations in Northern California. So now we are compounding. Everything not only domestically in California but now globally if our military readiness is now going to be put in jeopardy because of the short-sighted policies not only coming from the new administration, but in the past from the Biden administration. And in addition to that, for the last few months we’ve been hearing warnings about the San Pablo Bay pipeline shutting down, which I understand carries fuel from the Central Valley to the Bay Area. I mean what are you hearing with that? Well, to your, to your viewers, I mean, the, the way that energy is produced in California is is *** three-legged stool. We need domestic production. If we don’t get domestic production, then that oil and gasoline is imported, imported from foreign countries. Uh, and, and then of course that oil has to at least that is produced in in California has to get to the refineries somewhere and the pipeline infrastructure in our state is is critical. There is *** major pipeline that goes from the Central Valley. Uh, in Kern County that that provides the oil, uh, to the Bay Area that is this on San Pablo pipeline right now. It is in jeopardy of closing right now. There is no, no gasoline or no oil to make gasoline that is flowing through it. And, and so it is in jeopardy of closing. The PUC is of course taking some emergency action to try to keep it afloat, but you can’t do that month after month. You need the volume certainty, so there has to be *** minimum flow. Of oil, uh, that will, that that you can put into the pipeline uh to keep it functional. If it, if that pipeline closes, then, you know, how is our refineries is going to get the, the oil that is produced domestically? It can’t. And so that has to be shipped um uh uh to our, to our ports and and imported um from overseas. Imagine these reserves that are right now off the coast of California. Those reserves could come to California. Right now, but if not, then those, those that oil will get sent to South Korea, will be sent to India, um, to, to be refined as *** gasoline. And if California is facing *** gasoline shortage, which unfortunately is on the horizon next year and the years coming forward, then California is going to buy back its own reserves at *** higher cost, and every single Californian is going to pay more in gasoline, and that is unacceptable. Really quick, my final one for you, Congressman Fong. California lawmakers and the governor this year did pass legislation to allow for more oil drilling near your district in your district. I mean, was that not enough? Well, I, it’s not enough. I mean, look, I, I appreciate the acknowledgement of the importance of, of, of Kern County. We are the energy production capital of California. We produce 70% of the state’s oil and gas. But look at the numbers. Every single day in California, we use 1.4 to 1.8 million barrels of oil. And so California produces 400,000 of that 70% of it from the Central Valley. So we import the rest. We import that the, the, the oil from from Iraq, from Brazil, from other countries around the world. And so, uh, if we’re going to uh uh stabilize the energy market in California, we have to, uh, begin to produce even more to cap the permits at 2000. Uh, permits *** year, we, we should do that tenfold. We should be allowing uh production in the Central Valley. We should be allowing production in Southern California. We should bring uh bring the oil that is in storage right now offshore, bring that into California. That’s, that would be 400,000 barrels of oil that we should allow them to produce the 50,000 to 100,000 barrels *** day that they could bring into our market. That would stabilize the production in our. that would stabilize our pipeline infrastructure that would give volume certainty to our refineries. But if we don’t do that, if, if Gavin Newsom won’t look in the mirror and undo the damage that is being done, then, then we are looking at *** looming and growing energy crisis. We’re going to do our part in in on the federal government. We’re we’re focused on energy dominance and and and undoing the the the restrictions that that that President Biden put in place, but we need *** partnership. We need the The Federal government and the state government to begin to recognize the fact that we need more production, we need to stabilize our markets. I mean, just look at the gas prices right now in California, you pay $460 right now *** gallon. The the national average right now is $3. So that that difference, the affordability crisis rests right now at the doorstep of Governor Newsom, and that we have to fix that. All right, Congressman Fong, thank you so much for your time. Thanks for having me.
Rep. Vince Fong says California’s oil and gas issues are a national security risk | California Politics 360
“We have an energy crisis in our state,” Fong said, noting California’s lack of supply also impacts neighboring states Nevada and Arizona.
Updated: 8:22 AM PST Dec 7, 2025
Republican Congressman Vince Fong is warning California’s dwindling lack of oil supply poses a national security risk. The Bakersfield-area representative joined California Politics 360 as Phillips 66 winds down its operations at its refinery in Southern California. The company has confirmed the refinery will close at the end of the year. Valero’s refinery in Benicia is also prepared to close this upcoming Spring. Both refineries represent about 20% of the state’s refining capacity. “We have an energy crisis in our state,” Fong said, noting California’s lack of supply also impacts neighboring states Nevada and Arizona. Fong pointed to a recent study showing jet fuel, diesel and gasoline that is supplied to the U.S. military could be at risk if the San Pablo Bay pipeline in California shuts down because of the lack of oil flowing through it. It’s not clear how soon that could happen. “We are compounding everything, not only domestically here in California, but now globally if our military readiness is going to be put in jeopardy because of these shortsighted policies not only coming from the Newsom administration, but also the previous, Biden administration,” Fong said. This year, in response to the refinery closures, California lawmakers and the governor passed legislation that will allow for more oil drilling in Kern County. “It’s not enough,” Fong said. Fong said California is getting 60% of its oil from foreign countries and suggested the state bring in the barrels it has available in reserves. Watch the full interview with Rep. Vince Fong in the video player above.KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3. The show also airs on KSBW in Monterey and Salinas, KEYT in Santa Barbara and CBS8 in San Diego.
Republican Congressman Vince Fong is warning California’s dwindling lack of oil supply poses a national security risk.
The Bakersfield-area representative joined California Politics 360 as Phillips 66 winds down its operations at its refinery in Southern California. The company has confirmed the refinery will close at the end of the year. Valero’s refinery in Benicia is also prepared to close this upcoming Spring. Both refineries represent about 20% of the state’s refining capacity.
“We have an energy crisis in our state,” Fong said, noting California’s lack of supply also impacts neighboring states Nevada and Arizona.
Fong pointed to a recent study showing jet fuel, diesel and gasoline that is supplied to the U.S. military could be at risk if the San Pablo Bay pipeline in California shuts down because of the lack of oil flowing through it. It’s not clear how soon that could happen.
“We are compounding everything, not only domestically here in California, but now globally if our military readiness is going to be put in jeopardy because of these shortsighted policies not only coming from the Newsom administration, but also the previous, Biden administration,” Fong said.
This year, in response to the refinery closures, California lawmakers and the governor passed legislation that will allow for more oil drilling in Kern County.
“It’s not enough,” Fong said.
Fong said California is getting 60% of its oil from foreign countries and suggested the state bring in the barrels it has available in reserves.
Watch the full interview with Rep. Vince Fong in the video player above.
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3. The show also airs on KSBW in Monterey and Salinas, KEYT in Santa Barbara and CBS8 in San Diego.