An explosion and fire at California’s second-largest oil refinery raised concerns about a potential rise in the state’s already high fuel prices, but by how much and when remains to be seen as authorities determine the extent of the damage at the expansive property in El Segundo.
Firefighters were still pouring water on the fire Friday morning, hours after residents said they felt a rumble from an explosion before flames cast an eerie orange glow over homes in the coastal South Bay community south of Los Angeles International Airport. The fire, which Chevron said began at a processing unit near the southeast corner of the refinery, was out later Friday morning, the company said, but damage was still being assessed.
The refinery, which has been in operation since 1911, is capable of refining 290,000 barrels of crude oil per day, including gasoline, jet and diesel fuels. The refinery supplies a significant amount of the motor fuel used by Southern Californians and accounts for about 17 percent of California’s crude oil capacity, according to the California Energy Commission.
“Depending on the time of year, about a sixth of all the gasoline in Southern California is refined through this plant,” said El Segundo Mayor Chris Pimentel.
The impact on fuel prices will depend largely on what was damaged and the extent of the damage, said Matt McClain, a petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com. The service tracks fuel price trends and the petroleum industry.
“How much of an increase in the price of gas can people expect? Anywhere from 15 to 30 cents a gallon, 25 cents a gallon, and we’re going to leave a little asterisk beside that because it’s still an unfolding situation on the extent of the damage,” McClain said. “It was not a small fire… so the key of the matter is what was damaged, how extensive is the damage and how long will it take to repair.”
Some residents reported hearing a loud bang before seeing the large orange glow coming from the active flames. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2025.
Californians already pay the nation’s highest prices for gas. A gallon of regular gas was priced Friday morning at $4.642 in California. The national average for a gallon of regular was $3.152.
In a statement Friday, Chevron said the fire was at a processing unit near the southeast corner of the sprawling property. Flames were contained to the refinery and did not spread into residential areas.
Sources told Reuters that the fire was confined to a jet fuel production unit.
Chevron said it is providing updates to the California Energy Commission on damage.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and remain in direct contact with the refiner, state and local partners, and labor leadership,” the commission told NBCLA. “We are glad no one was injured in the incident.”
The cause of the explosion and fire at is unknown and under investigation. Several federal, state and local agencies will likely be part of the investigation.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said it was monitoring the situation.
The refinery covers roughly 1.5 square miles and has more than 1,100 miles of pipelines, according to the company’s website.
The refinery has more than a century of history in the seaside community. In 1911, when kerosene for lamps was in high demand, the location was selected as the site for Standard Oil Company’s second refinery in California.
The city was named El Segundo, “the second” in Spanish, in recognition of the refinery.
The company’s name was changed to Chevron Corporation in 1984.
There have been several fires at the refinery in the last decade, the latest in 2022. A fire in 2017 threatened storage tanks and sent huge flames into the sky before crews quickly smothered it. It did not burn near any of the facility’s main processing units, Chevron said.
Chevron was fined nearly $1 million by the state of California for a major fire in 2012 at a refinery in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California’s largest refinery is Marathon Oil Corp.’s Los Angeles Refinery in nearby Carson.
Further limiting California’s refinery capacity, the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington and Carson is due to shut down by the end of the year. The company announced closure plans last year.