U.S. refinery capacity has dropped from 2025 to 2026

The likely reason for this is the closure of two refineries during 2025. LyondellBasell closed their Houston plant in March 2025, after several attempts to sell the property, and Phillips 66 closed down their Los Angeles plant in October 2025, due to the company’s uncertainty about the refinery’s long-term sustainability. In addition, Valero’s Benicia refinery has ceased operations since April 2026. While these losses have been partially offset by slight increases at other operations, there is still an impact.

Marathon, Exxonmobile, and Valero are the top three refiners in the United States. Each of these companies reported less than 1% daily capacity increases, probably from small improvements to processes, instead of any sort of large expansions. The two largest refineries, Motiva’s Point Arthur refinery and Marathon’s Galveston Bay refinery, remain as such.