"The Responsibilities That Come With A Facility Like This Are Big" – Jared Wimberley, PBF Energy

Continuing our California COBT Series, we are excited to share this Special Edition featuring PBF Energy. We had the pleasure of touring PBF’s 700-acre Torrance Refinery and met with Jared Wimberley, Refinery Manager. The facility has a nameplate crude capacity of 166,000 barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 13.8. It produces approximately 1.8 billion gallons of gasoline annually, representing roughly 10 percent of California’s gasoline demand. In addition to blending three grades of gasoline, the refinery produces diesel fuel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gases, coke, and sulfur. We were thrilled to visit the facility, meet members of the team, and see firsthand the scale and complexity behind a critical piece of California’s energy infrastructure.
 
In our conversation, Jared highlights the critical role the Torrance Refinery plays in California’s energy system, economy, and local community. We discuss the refinery’s nearly century-long history, its significant economic impact and high-quality jobs, the complexity and safety of modern refinery operations, and the importance of maintaining strong relationships with the City of Torrance and surrounding community. Jared shares his perspective on California’s challenging refining environment, including high power and operating costs, regulatory complexity, access to California crude, workforce development, and the implications of declining in-state refining capacity.
 
We explore the connection between reliable local energy production and affordability, including how energy costs ripple through the broader economy, from transportation and manufacturing to groceries and other everyday goods. California’s economy continues to depend on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, electricity, and petroleum-derived materials, making the future of refining an important part of the broader conversation around the state’s competitiveness, energy security, and cost of living. We close with Jared’s perspective on the opportunity for California to balance its environmental goals with the need for reliable, affordable energy and a strong economy.