Final Gulf Oil Shipment Arrives in Long Beach

The Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker New Corolla arrived at the Port of Long Beach this weekend, unloading two million barrels of Iraqi crude oil at the Marathon Petroleum terminal. This marks the final shipment from the Persian Gulf to California since Iranian forces blockaded the Strait of Hormuz following the escalation of conflict with the United States and Israel in late February.

The blockade has halted new commercial oil shipments through the strait, a critical chokepoint for global supplies. California, which imports about 75 percent of its crude from foreign sources and Alaska, previously drew roughly 30 percent of its foreign oil from the Middle East, including 21 percent from Iraq and 14 percent from Saudi Arabia in recent months. The state typically receives around 200,000 barrels per day from the region, a flow now severed except for tankers like the New Corolla that departed before the closure.

With no interstate pipelines connecting California to other U.S. states, refiners face immediate challenges in replacing the lost volumes. Officials from the California Energy Commission stated they are working closely with refiners, who are identifying alternative sources such...