Not for nuthin'…. But….. before you blame Gavin Newsom for every painful fill-up from Marblehead to Montana, check the receipt on that “four forced California refinery closures” post.
The claim
Through mid-to-late September 2026, Facebook and X posts have been insisting U.S. gas prices aren’t high because of the Iran war — they’re high because California Gov. Gavin Newsom “forced” the shutdown of four oil refineries. One Sep 17 Facebook post from a Connecticut Republican candidate put it bluntly: the blame “lies with Newsom.” Snopes readers wrote in asking the same question.
What actually happened
Snopes (Sep 25) rated the rumor Mostly False. Count first: only two California refineries stopped processing crude in the past year — Phillips 66’s Los Angeles Refinery (October 2025) and Valero’s Benicia plant (April 2026). The other two names often tossed into the pile (Marathon Martinez, Phillips 66 Rodeo) quit crude years earlier for renewable-fuel conversions, not a 2026 Newsom edict.
“Forced” doesn’t hold either. Phillips 66 executives cited high production costs and “very low” earnings; a company spokesperson said a Newsom regulatory bill signing wasn’t a factor. Valero’s CEO did call California’s regulatory climate the toughest in North America — and noted Benicia costs more to maintain — but GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan told Snopes those were business decisions, not a policy change that forced the plants dark.
On the nationwide spike: U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly price data show retail gas jumping hard in the weeks after the Iran war began in late February / early March 2026 — the same pattern as after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Phillips 66 and Valero earnings calls this spring pointed to Strait of Hormuz closures and Middle East geopolitics. Closer to home, WBUR (Sep 22) and AAA Northeast tied Massachusetts’ seasonal-high average (~$4.41/gal) to the ongoing Middle East conflict and supply volatility — not a Sacramento shutdown order.
More: Snopes · EIA retail gasoline prices · WBUR / AAA Northeast · California Energy Commission FAQ
MOAM take
Pain at the pump is real up here — nobody filling a truck in Essex County needs a lecture. What we don’t need is a four-refinery fairy tale that skips the war and the shipping lanes. Argue California regs all day if you want. Don’t rewrite the price chart.
Verdict: FALSE — two closures by company choice, not four forced by Newsom; the nationwide spike tracks the Iran war.
MOAM Out.
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