WH on CA Refinery Profit Limits: We’ll Let Them Speak for Themselves, if Companies Make Large Profit, They Should Invest Back

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “The Close,” Biden energy coordinator Amos Hochstein responded to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposing to limit the profit margins of oil refiners by stating that he’ll let California speak for itself, but if companies are “going to have those kind of profits, the expectation I think of every American is that those profits would be invested back in America.”

After Hochstein stated that, in “the short and medium term, which is long enough, we acknowledge that we’re going to need oil and gas in the American economy and in the global economy. So, it’s going to be with — fossil fuels [are] going to be with us for years to come, and enough, long enough that would justify increased production investment.” Co-host Romaine Bostick asked, [relevant exchange begins around 7:00] “And it’s not just, of course, what you’re doing at the federal level, at least coming out of the White House, a lot of states and municipalities are making their own efforts, including a proposal out of California and the Governor there to actually put certain limits on the refining margins that we see for some of the refiners there. Is that something you would support?”

Hochstein responded, “Well, I think that the states are going to do — every state has a different profile. … California also does a lot of things that other states don’t follow. So, I’ll let them speak for themselves. But, look, we are — when it comes to the refineries, we have worked with the industry to make sure that we have reserves and an injection of more gasoline, diesel, which is so important for heating oil in the winter to make sure we have enough in reserve. We’re working — that’s gone well. Some of the companies have already — Chevron has put more product into reserves on the east coast. So, I think we have — we disagree on certain areas and we work together in other areas. And I think that’s just the nature of the relationship. It’s not personal. But again, if you’re going to have those kind of profits, the expectation I think of every American is that those profits would be invested back in America.”

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