LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oil company Phillips 66 announced Wednesday that it plans to shut down a Los Angeles-area refinery by the end of 2025, citing market concerns.
The refinery accounts for about 8% of California's refining capacity, according to the state's Energy Commission. The company said it will remain operating in the state.
“With the long-term sustainability of our Los Angeles Refinery uncertain and affected by market dynamics, we are working with leading land development firms to evaluate the future use of our unique and strategically located properties near the Port of Los Angeles,” CEO Mark Lashier said in a statement. “Phillips 66 remains committed to serving California and will continue to take the necessary steps to meet our commercial and customer demands.”
The closure will impact 600 employees and 300 contractors who help operate the refinery, the company said in a news release. The refinery consists of two facilities that were built more than a century ago.
The announcement comes days after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking at the pump. The law authorizes energy regulators to require refineries to maintain a certain level of fuel on hand. The goal is to avoid sudden increases in gas prices when refineries go offline for maintenance.
Phillips 66's decision to close was not related to the new law, the company said. It said it supported the state's efforts to keep certain levels of fuel on hand to meet consumer needs.
The company also operates a refinery near San Francisco that accounts for about 5% of California’s refining capacity, according to the state Energy Commission. Phillips 66 Santa Maria, a refinery that was located about 62 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Santa Barbara, shut down in 2023 after the company announced plans to convert its San Francisco-area site into “one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities.”
Newsom has applied pressure on lawmakers to pass oil and gas regulations. He called the state Legislature into a special session in 2022 to pass legislation aimed at cracking down on oil companies for making too much money. The Democrat often touts California's status as a climate leader. The state has passed policies in recent years to phase out the the sale of new fossil fuel-powered lawn mowers, cars, big rigs and trains.
This story has been corrected to show that the Los Angeles-area refinery accounts for about 8% of California’s refining capacity, not that it produces that amount of the state’s crude oil. It has corrected the same error for the San Francisco-area refinery.
FILE - The Phillips 66 refinery is shown, July 16, 2014 in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
FILE - A jogger runs in front of the Phillips 66 refinery, July 16, 2014, in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix officers repeatedly punched and shocked a deaf Black man with a Taser nearly two months ago when they responded to a call that the man had committed an assault at a convenience store, according to body camera footage.
The man, Tyron Scott McAlpin, 34, has been charged with felony resisting arrest and aggravated assault stemming from the Aug. 19 encounter with the officers. McAlpin’s arrest was first reported late last week by ABC15 Arizona. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Police say Officer Benjamin Harris suffered a hand injury when hitting McAlpin, while McAlpin bit the hand of Officer Kyle Sue during the struggle, which was recorded on the officers' body cameras. Neither officers' race was revealed in police reports.
At a court hearing, Harris testified that everything could have been avoided if McAlpin just indicated he was deaf, ABC15 reported.
Jesse Showalter, an attorney representing McAlpin, said the first officer to make contact with McAlpin wasn’t able to figure out he was deaf because the officer took no steps to deescalate the situation and instead immediately starting using force.
Phoenix police said in statement Tuesday, “There was nothing that the officers were told or witnessed to indicate Mr. McAlpin was hearing impaired.”
The man who called the police, who is white, told them that McAlpin, who was walking nearby, punched him in the face.
An officer caught up with McAlpin in a nearby parking lot and immediately put his hands on him after stepping out of his patrol vehicle, and the struggle began.
McAlpin was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the man who called the police but hasn’t been charged with assaulting him.
Showalter said his client was never involved in a fight with the man.
The encounter is under investigation and was assigned to the agency's internal affairs unit, the department said.
The Phoenix Police Department has been accused by the U.S. Justice Department of discriminating against Black, Hispanic and Native American people, unlawfully detaining homeless people and using excessive force, including unjustified deadly force.
The city has said it is committed to reforms in its police department but has resisted efforts to enter a consent decree with the Justice Department.
This image from Phoenix Police Department body camera footage from Aug. 19, 2024, shows Tyron Scott McAlpin, a Black man who is deaf, being punched and shocked with a Taser by Phoenix police officers when they responded to a call that the man had committed an assault at a convenience store in Phoenix. (Phoenix Police Department via AP)
This image from Phoenix Police Department body camera footage from Aug. 19, 2024, shows Tyron Scott McAlpin, a Black man who is deaf, being punched and shocked with a Taser by Phoenix police officers when they responded to a call that the man had committed an assault at a convenience store in Phoenix. (Phoenix Police Department via AP)
This image from Phoenix Police Department body camera footage from Aug. 19, 2024, shows Tyron Scott McAlpin, a Black man who is deaf, being punched and shocked with a Taser by Phoenix police officers when they responded to a call that the man had committed an assault at a convenience store in Phoenix, according to police. (Phoenix Police Department via AP)
