The loss of approximately 17 percent of California’s refining base has fundamentally altered product flows across the western United States. As supply tightens on the West Coast, the El Paso refining hub—boasting over 300,000 barrels per day of capacity—has emerged as a critical balancing point. Product is increasingly moving via the 125,000 barrel-per-day Santa Fe Pacific Pipeline system to meet demand in Arizona, New Mexico, and Northern Mexico.

Argus chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks noted that these assessments provide necessary transparency at the intersection of eastern supply and western demand. The new benchmarks cover ultra-low sulphur diesel and regular and premium CBOB gasoline, calculated as outright prices and differentials to the US Gulf Coast Colonial pipeline index. With proposed infrastructure projects expected to add 200,000 barrels per day of westbound capacity, the company anticipates that liquidity and trade volume through this Texas corridor will climb significantly.