The leader of the Arizona State Senate has sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday expressing concern over proposals to further regulate the oil industry.
“Our state relies on California for over 1/3 of our fuel supply, and I’m concerned that the rush to pile on policies without considering implications to states like ours will further burden our citizens,” the letter from Senate President Warren Petersen said.
“While I recognize California’s right to regulate refineries in the state, these facilities should be viewed as critical national assets that are essential far beyond California’s borders.”
According to a report from the Institute for Energy Research , a nonprofit organization, Arizona and Nevada rely heavily on California refineries for transportation fuel, with high prices in California often reflected in Arizona and Nevada.
“Arizona has no significant oil reserves and no petroleum refineries while Nevada has just modest oil production and only one small refinery that processes 2,000 barrels of oil per day, producing just asphalt and road oil. Nevada gets its additional petroleum products from refineries in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area and Salt Lake City, while Arizona receives its petroleum products by pipeline from Southern California and Texas,” the report said.