Not only taxes, but a specific California blend CARBOB, with 17% of the refineries that made it shutting down [1], causing a big reversal in policy perspectives to pro oil to slow down refineries from leaving [2], and the need to import, by sea, 20% from participating refineries in Asia [3] and 40% from Bahamas [4].

California being on the path to high prices this year was all over the news last year [5], but nobody seems to remember that, instead blaming it all on the Iran conflict.

[1] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65704

[2] https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/08/oil-compromise-calif...

[3] https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/california-high...

[4] https://www.americanenergyalliance.org/2026/02/newsom-import...

[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2025/12/07/newsom...