CA Oil Refiners' Margins Top $1 Per Gallon In March, $1.11 For Chevron, Trending Upward; Validating Need for Three Year Old CEC Rules on Resupply and Minimum Inventories, says Consumer Watchdog

LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New data released by the California Energy Commission (CEC) shows California refining margins skyrocketing to $1 per gallon in March from 49 cents per gallon in January, with one refiner, likely Chevron, reporting $1.11 per gallon.

The data was released nine days early in response to Consumer Watchdog's opposition to the confirmation of CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda, which mentioned the need to see the margin data.

"The data shows that refiners are making a killing off drivers and that their profit margins are trending upward," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, pointing to the estimated price and margin breakdowns. "At an average of $5.26 per gallon in March, refiners' gross profit margins were $1 per gallon. At $6 per gallon, refining margins will be even greater in future reports because the average price of crude oil has been near $100 per barrel in March and May. That means nearly every added penny at the pump will show up as refiner margin or industry retailer margin in future reports. This isn't just Iran, this is refiner gouging at the state level due to the lack of rules requiring resupply of downed refineries and requiring minimum inventory. The state is unprepared because of the failures of the CEC to write the necessary regulations to deal with keeping California out of the same price and profit spikes we faced in 2022 and 2023."

"Yesterday CEC Vice Chair Gunda suggested $1 refining margins were normal and the run-up at the pump was due to Iran. He misstated the meaning of a gap greater than $1.20 with US gas prices – which indicates refiner profiteering. He failed to acknowledge the role of two downed Northern California refineries, PBF Martinez and Valero Benecia, that were revealed weeks before the war, in creating shortages that needed to be filled with spot market buys that drove up the price of gasoline and refiner profits. The regulations the CEC and Gunda have failed to write since their legislative enactment in 2023 and 2024 would have created more supply and helped hold down prices and profits. If there were sufficient supply, refining margins would not be topping $1 per gallon. Gunda's refusal to acknowledge this fact, and place the blame on the Iran war, is disingenuous. If the Senate confirms him, as expected, without more due diligence, it will own this crisis at the pump. $1 refining margins are not normal. $1.50 plus margins, which can be projected based on the March data, are an outrage. The Senate should not turn a blind eye to this data and what it says about the failure of the CEC under Mr. Gunda to use the tools he was given under SBx1-2 and ABx2-1."

"Democrats need to do better in holding each other accountable. The fact that this is a Democratic Administration should not cause the Senate to have tunnel vision about the top pocket book issue for their constituents, gasoline prices. The Administration needs to be accountable for using the tools it was given by the legislature and Mr. Gunda made clear yesterday he had no intention of writing the legislatively-mandated regulations any time soon. That shouldn't be acceptable to senators because they are the only tools we have to combat price spikes and, at this moment, their constituents need their senators to stand up for them more than Governor Newsom does."

The Senate Rules committee voted yesterday to move Mr. Gunda's confirmation to the floor for a vote without a commitment from Mr. Gunda on delivery of the regulations. 

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog