US Refining Capacity Falls in 2025 After Major Plant Closures, EIA Says
US refinery capacity fell in 2025 as the permanent closure of two major plants outweighed marginal efficiency gains across the industry, Energy Information Administration strategists said in a note on Monday.EIA analysts said operable atmospheric distillation capacity totaled 18.2 million barrels per calendar day as of Jan. 1. The figure represents a decline of more than 250,000 b/cd, or about 1%, compared with the same period a year earlier, the analysts said.The contraction leaves the US with 130 operable refineries, two fewer than in 2025.The EIA said the decline was driven by the shutdown of two refineries in 2025, including a 263,776-b/d facility in Houston operated by LyondellBasell (LYB) and a 138,700-b/d refinery in Los Angeles owned by Phillips 66 (PSX).Combined, the two closures removed about 400,000 b/d of capacity from the market.However, the agency said incremental capacity expansions and process improvements at existing refineries partially offset the reduction. The EIA identified 130 operable refineries in the US as of Jan. 1, down from 132 a year earlier.The closure of the Phillips 66 Los Angeles facility represented a 5% reduction in refining capacity on the US West Coast, within the Petroleum Administration for Defense District 5.The EIA said that while Valero Energy's (VLO) 145,000-b/d Benicia refinery in California remained operational as of Jan. 1, the facility has since ceased refining operations and was removed from the agency's monthly capacity estimates beginning in March 2026.The closure of the LyondellBasell refinery, by contrast, represented a smaller proportional impact on the US Gulf Coast refining system, accounting for about 3% of capacity in PADD 3, where refining output exceeds regional fuel demand.Overall Gulf Coast refining capacity declined by less than 2% in 2025 after accounting for capacity additions elsewhere in the region, the EIA said.The agency said that the three largest US refiners, Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Valero Energy and Exxon Mobil (XOM), each reported calendar-day capacity increases of less than 1% compared with 2025, reflecting what it described as small-scale operational improvements rather than major expansion projects.Phillips 66 recorded an overall decline in capacity following the closure of its Los Angeles facility.Meanwhile, Chevron (CVX) overtook PBF Energy (PBF) to become the fifth-largest US refiner after posting modest capacity gains.Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur refinery in Texas retained its position as the largest US refinery by calendar-day capacity at 656,000 b/d, while Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay refinery remained the country's largest on a stream-day basis, with a capacity of 678,000 barrels per stream day.Price: $177.06, Change: $+5.41, Percent Change: +3.15%
