California is about to face the most brutal test of the gas crisis yet as the final ship carrying oil from the Middle East arrived in the Golden State.<\/p>\n
The last oil tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> since the Iran war kicked off docked at the Port of Long Beach with two million barrels for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.<\/p>\n Despite the West Coast being heavily reliant on fossil fuels out of the Persian Gulf due to crippling eco-policies from Gavin Newsom, there are no more vessels currently en route.<\/p>\n Oil giants and experts tore into California\u2019s Democratic leaders for letting the state become so exposed to supply problems out of the Middle East while crucifying any production at home.<\/p>\n It has seen the price of a gallon of fuel rocket <\/a>to $6.1 for drivers up the West Coast \u2014 nearly $2 more than the national average \u2014 with some gas stations hitting up to $8.<\/p>\n Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq\u2019s southern offshore oil terminals REUTERS<\/p>\n California is now holding out hope that President Trump\u2019s plan to have the US Navy escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday will bring some relief.<\/p>\n Hong Kong-flagged ship New Corolla, which loaded up on oil in Iraq on February 24 just days before war broke out, was spotted unloaded the vital black gold in Long Beach over the weekend.<\/p>\n It will now spend two weeks unloading at the Marathon Petroleum terminal before leaving California to figure out how to make up for the 200,000 barrels a day it got from the Middle East.<\/p>\n Last year, California refineries sourced around 30% of their foreign crude oil from the Persian Gulf, based on state data.<\/p>\n The Golden State is particularly vulnerable to war in the region as its status as an isolated energy island without gas pipelines has led it to increasingly rely on these imports.<\/p>\n Oil giants said the region only had itself to blame and warned drivers and consumers <\/a>across the West Coast will feel the squeeze.<\/p>\n A tanker docks at Port of Long Beach. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n A spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association told The Post: \u201cThis shows the recklessness of California\u2019s policy of intentionally outsourcing our critical energy infrastructure to other parts of the world.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia\u2019s economy depends on a reliable supply of fuel \u2013 when that supply is interrupted, consumers and business pay the price.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesman for Chevron<\/a>, which has been vocal about California\u2019s energy policies, said: \u201cWe believe many years of Sacramento\u2019s adversarial policies toward refining and energy production have left the state at the end of a long, fragile supply chain.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia lost 18% of its refining capacity in just the past 8 months because the state made those operations uncompetitive.<\/p>\n \u201cNow California imports as much as 25% of gasoline and 20% of its jet fuel from overseas refineries that are more leveraged to Mideast crude oil than American refineries are.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe California needs to cut taxes, reduce red tape and do everything it can to hold onto its remaining manufacturing capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n They added: \u201cEnergy security demands an all-of-the-above approach to policy and we urge Sacramento to embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n Assemblymember David Alvarez California State Assembly Democratic Caucus<\/p>\n Democratic and Republican state lawmakers have already sounded the alarm on the impending emergency and blasted California\u2019s energy authorities for not having a plan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are demanding an emergency plan to deal with this fuel crisis,\u201d A Democratic assemblymember David Alvarez said late last month.<\/p>\n \u201cOur request \u2014 demand, I would say at this point \u2014 highlights past due reports, some well over a year, that are due and required to be presented to the legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n They noted how countries such as the Philippines and South Korea, where shortages have already hit, have called on citizens to cut back on gas or declared a national gas emergency to secure imports.<\/p>\n The California Energy Commission<\/a> on Sunday claimed it was confident in the state\u2019s oil supply outlook for the next six weeks, despite fears over the current stockpile that has been depleting since the 1980s.<\/p>\n Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said climate policies have discouraged oil production in the state and led to refinery closures which has made it even more vulnerable.<\/p>\n He told The Post: \u201cThey\u2019ve been shutting down our oil and gas industry in California in the name of climate but actually it\u2019s had no impact on global temperatures because we\u2019ve been importing oil and gas from halfway around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump may come to California\u2019s rescue after revealing plans for the American military to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting on Monday.<\/p>\n The president said countries from all over the world that operate the hundreds of ships stuck around the narrow strip have reached out to the US for help, with him vowing to step up.<\/p>\n He wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: \u201cFor the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are Ships from areas of the World that are not in any way involved with that which is currently taking place in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong \u2014 They are victims of circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the operation, which he dubbed Project Freedom, would begin on Monday morning local time.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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