By Gerson Freitas Jr. | Bloomberg
California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed Valero Corp.’s latest blowout profits, accusing the company of jacking up profits while ripping off consumers.
“Big Oil is ripping Californians off, hiking gas prices and making record profits,” Newsom said in a statement Tuesday. “As Valero jacked up their profits by over 500% in just a year, Californians were paying for it at the pump.”
Newsom has railed against oil company profits as California gasoline prices topped $6 a gallon earlier this year, the highest in the nation. The governor has called a special session of the state legislature for December to pass a new tax, which he dubs the “price gauging penalty,” on oil company profits and has said he wants the profits returned to taxpayers in the form of rebates.
Valero, which reported $2.82 billion of net income for the third quarter, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A campaign spokesman said Newsom is likely to comment on the profits of all the refiners that operate in California during the third-quarter earnings season, which coincides with the final weeks of the 2022 midterm elections and Newsom’s re-election campaign.
“With gas prices so high, people are rightly focused on big oil companies who are reaping 600% profits when consumers are being squeezed and saying ‘what the hell are we getting out of this?’” Newsom campaign spokesman Nathan Click said.
A spike in California gasoline prices has eased over the past few weeks after the government allowed refineries to make an early transition to so-called winter-blend gasoline, which is cheaper to produce.
