"California imported more gasoline in November than ever before, with more than 40% coming from the Bahamas. The lengthy journey adds another layer of cost to California's already expensive gasoline market. Yet the phenomenon isn't likely to disappear soon, thanks to a combination of disappearing oil refineries, a lack of interstate pipelines and a loophole in a 106-year-old maritime law."
"California has among the strictest environmental regulations in the US, making it costly for energy companies to operate in, though a wave of upcoming refinery closures is prompting officials and regulators to soften their stance. On average, the closures could raise the cost of gasoline for consumers by between 5 and 15 cents a gallon, said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis. After Phillips 66 shuttered its Los Angeles refinery in October, gasoline imports climbed in 2025 to the highest level since at least 2016, Vortexa data show."
"Under the Jones Act, any goods shipped between US ports must travel on US-built, owned and operated vessels. Those tankers are in short supply and expensive to charter. There are about 55 Jones Act-compliant oil tankers worldwide, compared with more than 7,000 oil tankers globally. "Even if there are such vessels, they would charge more than a foreign-flagged vessel would," said Martin Davies, director of Tulane University's Maritime Law Center"
California is receiving gasoline that is shipped out of the United States, routed thousands of miles through the Bahamas before arriving in the state. Shipments on this circuitous route have increased, with November imports hitting a record and over 40% sourced from the Bahamas. The long routing raises consumer fuel costs. Declining domestic refinery capacity, upcoming refinery closures such as Phillips 66 and Valero, and the lack of Gulf-to-West-Coast pipelines force greater import reliance. Jones Act restrictions and a shortage of US-compliant tankers raise shipping costs and limit cheaper foreign-flagged vessel use.
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