California oil refiners posted a gross profit of $1.29 per gallon in May, according to data the California Energy Commission released July 16, 2026. That margin is nearly three times the 44 cents per gallon refiners reported in January.
Margins triple since January
The state publishes the monthly figures under SB 1322, a 2022 law from Sen. Ben Allen that requires refiners to report their gross refining margins, a downstream metric, each month. Chevron, usually the market's most profitable refiner, posted a gross profit of $1.34 per gallon in May.
A penalty that was never written
Consumer Watchdog used the state data to estimate what refiners would owe drivers under a price gouging penalty the legislature authorized in 2023 under SBx1-2. The Energy Commission never wrote the regulation needed to enforce it. Applying a $1-per-gallon penalty threshold, a level the group calls unusually high for the industry, Consumer Watchdog put the overcharges at:
| Month | Estimated overcharge |
|---|---|
| March | $22 million |
| April | $266 million |
| May | $322 million |
That puts the three-month total at $610 million, the amount Consumer Watchdog says drivers are owed. "The state never wrote the rules necessary" to return that money, Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court said, calling on regulators to "put the price gouging penalty back on the table."
A second bill targets wartime pricing
Allen is also a co-author of SB 493, written with Becker, which would cap price increases at 10% above cost if the governor declares a state of emergency during wartime. The bill defines a war emergency to include sustained U.S. military operations against a foreign power even without a formal declaration of war.
