Phillips 66 terminated operations at its Los Angeles-area refinery in the fourth quarter of 2025. Chevron moved its headquarters to Texas, citing high taxes and burdensome regulations. Valero Energy Corporation, which announced plans to close its Benicia oil refinery (located just northeast of San Francisco, in 2026), has just been fined for “air quality violations” to the tune of $3.25 million.
However, Chevron has taken a new approach… this time directly targeting the regulators and politicians who view its firm as evil and a cash cow deserving to be pilfered.
Drivers across California, including here in the Central Valley, may be noticing new signs posted at some Chevron gas stations pointing the finger at Sacramento for high gas prices.The signs carry messages like: “Sacramento policies did this. Now, you pay more.”Others saying, “California has the highest gas taxes and fees in America.”The signs also include a QR code customers can scan for more information.Chevron says the campaign is meant to explain why Californians are paying some of the highest gas prices in the country.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Press Office was quick to respond with snark.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in a spat with a major oil company over who is to blame for the state’s high gas prices, with the Democratic governor’s office urging drivers not to fill up at Chevron stations over Memorial Day weekend.“Pro tip: unbranded gas comes from the same refineries, storage tanks, and pipelines, and it meets the same state standards to keep your engine running clean,” Newsom’s office posted Thursday on X. “Big Oil is already making billions off Trump’s Iran War; don’t let them rip you off even more by overpaying for the brand name.”Newsom’s office cited an analysis by a group within the state’s energy commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, that found that Chevron averaged more than 60 to 80 cents per gallon above unbranded alternatives.
However, the response really wasn’t what Newsom was expecting:
Then the U.S. Gas and Oil Association bolstered Chevron’s position with feedback of its own.
“Pro tip: Don’t take Pro tips from a Politician who hasn’t driven himself anywhere since 2004,” the group wrote in a post on X Thursday that had gotten nearly 100,000 views.The association’s president doubled down on the criticism in a statement to The California Post.“It’s interesting how the politicians who are picked up every morning by a black SUV are experts on gas prices but always fail to recognize the impact their bad decisions actually have on gas prices,” Tim Stewart said.The group had been referencing Newsom’s taxpayer-funded drivers, who ferry the governor between events across the state and leave him out of touch with everyday commuters.“Chevron works hard to help educate Californians about Sacramento’s energy and tax policies. These adversarial policies have resulted in California losing nearly 18% of its refining capacity in less than a year,” a Chevron spokesperson told The California Post.“Most Chevron-branded gas stations in California are independently owned and operated. Attacking California’s small businesses like this is deeply unfair and irresponsible. We urge Sacramento to take energy policy seriously and stop making life expensive for California drivers,” they added.
The growing tension between California regulators and oil companies underscores a disconnect between policymakers and the realities of energy demand, with producers continuing to supply a critical, everyday resource even as they face increasingly burdensome and counterproductive regulations.
As companies push back and scale operations in response to these policies, they are highlighting the essential role they play in keeping the state moving and raising important questions about whether current regulatory approaches are driving up costs and undermining energy reliability rather than supporting practical, balanced solutions.
It will be interesting to see how the Chevron sign campaign works out for the company, on this busy Memorial Day weekend.