- A day after Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) called its California operations as its weakest group, PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Chairman Tom O'Malley says he’s interested in buying a plant in the state.
- O’Malley is eyeing California as west coast refinery margins hover at the highest seasonal level in seven years, boosted by plant repairs and fuel exports to Latin America; the state’s refiners also are pulling in a record volume of oil by rail from North American shale plays, allowing them to displace costly imports from abroad.
- VLO CEO William Klesse said in its earnings call yesterday that the financial performance of the company’s California refineries is "not that great"; VLO runs the 132K bbl/day Benicia refinery near San Francisco and the 78K bbl/day Wilmington complex near Los Angeles.