Another California refinery closure will threaten national and global economies

There are approximately 700 to 800 direct daily flights from the rest of the United States into California. If you include outbound flights, as well as cargo, private aircraft, and international arrivals, daily flight operations easily exceed 3,500 to 4,500 state-wide.

California has nine primary commercial airports that hold international status, offering global routes or designated U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities for international flights and arrivals.

Here are the nine international airports in California:

· Los Angeles International Airport (LAX); San Francisco International Airport (SFO); San Diego International Airport (SAN); San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC); Sacramento International Airport (SMF); Oakland International Airport (OAK); Ontario International Airport (ONT); John Wayne Airport (SNA); Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT).

Several U.S. military installations, including Travis Air Force Base and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, rely almost entirely on California refineries for their jet fuel.

For the 30 military airports in California, there is no singular, exact number of daily flights state-wide for military because military missions constantly fluctuate, and flight tallies across the state's airports are highly dynamic.

However, looking at daily activity at major commercial hubs across California provides a clear picture of the state's flight volume:

• Major International Hubs: California's premier international gateways handle thousands of daily operations. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)leads the state, regularly serving well over 1,500 commercial flights per day, while San Francisco International Airport (SFO) handles around 1,100 to 1,200 daily flights.
• Other Commercial International Airports: Facilities like San Diego International (SAN), San Jose (SJC), and Oakland (OAK) handle hundreds of scheduled passenger and cargo flights daily, connecting the state with international destinations like Mexico and Canada.
• Military & Joint-Use Airports: California houses numerous military installations (such as Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Lemoore, and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar). The exact number of flights from these is not publicly released by the Department of Defense.

State regulators adopted a sweeping climate plan to slash carbon dioxide emissions by 85% below 1990 levels by 2045. The blueprint includes cutting oil and gas consumption to less than one-tenth of today's levels, a target that further clouds the investment outlook for refineries already weighing whether to upgrade, convert, or shut down.

California's current posture coupled with the Iranian war will see California brought to its knees if another refinery goes offline. If you look at the three most recent refinery fires resulting in refinery downtime it becomes abundantly clear about how vulnerable we truly are.

• In the case of Chevron in El Segundo a thin spot on a furnace tube that was missed during inspection failed.
• At PBF in Martinez a maintenance contractor got on the wrong side of a block valve opening a flange on the live side of the process resulting in a huge release and fire.
• At Valero a 30-foot section of a stack on furnace 701 separated and fell to the ground. It landed on equipment below causing a major release and fire. This stack is 56 years old. It was never inspected due to inaccessibility. This is a major problem with all our refineries; they are getting old.

Thus, energy literacy conversations with California policymakers are required, as a closure of just one of the remaining seven operating California refinery would impact National Security and International economies.