As California drivers winced at soaring prices in mid-March and April, the state’s quick fix came from a politically awkward place: a surge of imported gasoline that shipping records trace back to Russian crude. The fuel showed up after refinery problems in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and helped head off what could have been a much nastier statewide shortage. It also poured fresh gasoline on a heated debate in Sacramento over whether these imports square with California’s climate ambitions and national security concerns.
Record Imports Helped Steady The Market
A market update from the California Energy Commission’s Division of Petroleum Market Oversight found that between February and May 2025, California pulled in about 18 million barrels of gasoline and blending components, with imports peaking at roughly 5.7 million barrels in March. Those barrels helped keep a full-blown retail price spike at bay. According to the California Energy Commission, elevated import levels helped hold wholesale and retail prices steadier than they otherwise would have been, even as…..