Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan proposed a new pipeline system to ship refined products from Midwest refiners to Arizona and California. Phillips 66 began soliciting shipper commitments for the proposed pipeline.
The proposed pipeline system would require the construction of a new Western Gateway Pipeline, which would flow from Borger, Texas, to Phoenix, and the reversal of a pipeline that currently flows from Colton, California, to Phoenix.
To bring supply from the Midwest to the West Coast, the project would also involve the reversal of a pipeline that currently flows from Borger, Texas, to St. Louis, Missouri.
The new pipelines could reduce concerns over fuel supply from the planned closure of two refineries that represent 17% of the state’s oil refinery capacity and supply neighboring states.
Phillips 66 announced that it will close its 139,000-barrel-per-day Wilmington Refinery in Los Angeles in the fourth quarter of 2025. Valero Energy announced that it would cease operations at its 170,000-barrel-per-day Benicia refinery in northern California by the end of April 2026.
The Western Gateway Pipeline will have a capacity to ship up to 200,000 barrels per day of refined products from the Midwest into Arizona, according to the companies.
In June, California Energy Commission Vice Chair Siva Gunda outlined a series of policy recommendations to help stabilize California’s gasoline and petroleum markets that include increasing imports of gasoline.