U.S. operable atmospheric distillation capacity, the primary measure of refinery capacity, totaled 18.2 million barrels per calendar day on January 1, 2026, down more than 250,000 barrels per day, or about 1 percent, from a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration's latest Refinery Capacity Report.

This year's report counts 130 operable refineries, two fewer than in 2025. LyondellBasell ended refining operations at its 263,776 barrel per day Houston refinery in March 2025, and Phillips 66 closed its 138,700 barrel per day Los Angeles refinery in October 2025. Together the two closures removed about 400,000 barrels per day of capacity, partly offset by small gains at other refineries.

The Los Angeles closure represented a 5 percent cut to refining capacity on the West Coast, a region with little pipeline access to the larger refinery hubs on the Gulf Coast. That limited connectivity means capacity losses on the West Coast can weigh more heavily on regional fuel supply than similar losses elsewhere in the country. The Houston closure, by contrast, trimmed Gulf Coast capacity by less than 2 percent after accounting for gains at other refineries in the region, since the Gulf Coast produces more fuel than it consumes.

Marathon, Valero and ExxonMobil, the three largest U.S. refiners, each reported calendar day capacity increases of less than 1 percent this year, changes the agency attributes to small process improvements rather than major expansions. Motiva's Port Arthur refinery remains the largest single U.S. refinery by calendar day capacity, at 656,000 barrels per day.

The report reflects capacity as of January 1, 2026, and does not capture changes made since, including Valero's Benicia refinery in California, which ceased operations and was removed from monthly estimates as of March 2026.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration - https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67807