Eagle Springs Won’t Solve Nevada’s Fuel Problem Overnight, But It’s a Start.
Something good happened this week and it didn’t get nearly enough attention: Nevada’s only oil refinery is back in business!
The Eagle Springs Refinery sits in Railroad Valley, southwest of Ely. That’s about 260 miles north of Las Vegas. It had been sitting idle.
Now it has a fresh air permit from the state. It also has about $300,000 in repairs and upgrades under its belt.
The owner is a Utah company called Sky Quarry. Its interim CEO, Marcus Laun, put it plainly. “Nevada has relied on fuel refined elsewhere for too long.”
Amen to that.
Small Refinery, Big Message
Now let’s be honest with each other. Eagle Springs is small. Really small.
It can process about 5,000 barrels of crude oil a day. The Valero refinery in Benicia, California, which just shut down, handled about 170,000. The biggest refinery in America, in Port Arthur, Texas, handles 730,000.
So no, this one small refinery out in Frontier Nevada won’t knock a buck off your next fill-up in Las Vegas. But it’s a start. And starts matter.
It restores a Nevada refining foothold and could eventually process more suitable Nevada crude if reliable production becomes available.
It gives us a foothold we haven’t had in years. And the company says it can grow if more Nevada crude comes to market.
That’s a big “if.” And it’s one we can do something about.
Railroad Valley is the only place in Nevada pumping oil right now.
But the U.S. Geological Survey estimates federal land in our state holds about 1.4 billion barrels of oil that hasn’t been found yet but could be recovered.
Nevada’s next land sale is scheduled for Sept. 30, with 14 parcels totaling about 20,600 acres on the block.
Why California Has Us Over a Barrel
Here’s what most folks don’t realize.
Southern Nevada relies heavily on the CALNEV pipeline from Southern California. The Reno–Sparks market depends on a Kinder Morgan pipeline from Rocklin, California.
So when California has a problem – including high fuel taxes and heavy-handed regulations – we have a problem.
And California has a big problem. It’s lost two major refining facilities in less than a year.
Phillips 66 closed its Los Angeles refinery at the end of last year. Valero idled Benicia back in April. Fewer refineries mean less fuel. Less fuel means higher prices.
And Nevada is stuck at the very end of the pipe, bidding against Californians for what’s left. That’s why Las Vegas drivers have been paying north of $5 a gallon for regular.
Gov. Joe Lombardo gets it. He created a Fuel Resiliency Committee last year to study the problem. “Energy security is national security,” he said.
He’s right. But studying the problem only gets us so far. At some point we have to build something.
I see two big opportunities. One for the north. One for the south.
Wells: A Lifeline for Northern Nevada
Let’s start up north.
Reno-Sparks is hanging by a single thread. One pipeline. From California. If that line goes down, there’s no backup plan.
That’s where Wells comes in.
Wells sits right on Interstate 80, about an hour west of the Utah line. The Union Pacific railroad runs through it. It’s a natural crossroads.
I want to see a fuel terminal built there. Think big storage tanks, truck loading racks and rail unloading. A place to hold gasoline and diesel from Utah and the Rockies instead of California.
From Wells, that fuel could roll west on I-80 to Elko, Carlin, Battle Mountain and Winnemucca. It could back up Reno when the California line has trouble. And it could keep our mines, ranchers and truckers running.
HF Sinclair, which owns the pipeline from Utah to Las Vegas, has already floated building a new line from Salt Lake City to Reno. That’s the kind of project a Wells terminal could plug into down the road.
Let me be clear about one thing. Wells isn’t a Las Vegas solution. It’s too far away, and the Utah pipeline to Las Vegas doesn’t go anywhere near it.
That’s okay. Northern Nevada deserves its own answer. Wells is it.
Phoenix: A New Door for Southern Nevada
Now let’s talk about home.
A few weeks ago, three big energy companies made a $5 billion decision. Phillips 66, Kinder Morgan, and HF Sinclair have advanced the Western Gateway project with a target in-service date of mid-2029.
It’s a 1,300-mile system. It will carry gasoline and diesel from refineries in Texas, the Midwest and the Gulf Coast all the way to Phoenix. It’s built to move 230,000 barrels a day.
That’s huge. That’s fuel from outside California heading our way.
But there’s a catch.
Right now, the plan only connects Las Vegas through CALNEV. You know, California’s pipe.
So fuel from Texas would flow to Phoenix. Then it would head west into California. Then it would come back to Las Vegas through the same California pipeline we depend on today.
That’s not independence, folks. That’s just a longer leash.
Here’s what I want. A dedicated pipeline straight from Phoenix to Las Vegas. It’s roughly 300 miles. Fuel from Texas and the Gulf would come directly to Southern Nevada without ever touching California.
Think about what that means. Las Vegas would get fuel from three directions: California, Utah and Arizona. When one supplier has a problem, the other two keep the pumps full.
And when suppliers have to compete for your business, prices come down. That’s not politics. That’s economics.
We should also push hard on the Utah side. HF Sinclair is evaluating an expansion that could add up to 35,000 barrels per day of Rockies-to-Nevada capacity by 2028.
That’s roughly 1.5 million more gallons of fuel a day that doesn’t come from California. Nevada should roll out the red carpet.
Now, private companies build pipelines when customers sign long-term contracts. So Nevada’s job is to make the case, clear the path and get in line early.
Plans for Western Gateway are being finalized right now. If we wait until 2029 to ask for our own connection, we’ll be too late.
What I’ll Do in Carson City
Voters deserve more than talk. So here’s my to-do list as your state senator in Senate District 8.
First, I’ll make fuel security the law, not just a committee. I’ll push to put a permanent state fuel plan on the books.
Every year, the Legislature should see how many days of fuel we have on hand, how much still comes from California and how many supply routes we have.
Second, I’ll speed up permits.
Pipelines, fuel terminals, storage tanks and refinery expansions should get firm state deadlines. No more projects dying of old age in a pile of paperwork.
And since Washington owns roughly 80 percent of Nevada’s land, I’ll push our federal partners to open the corridors these projects need.
Third, I’ll go after the Phoenix line.
I’ll push for a Senate resolution making a direct Phoenix-to-Las Vegas pipeline a state priority. And I’ll work with the Western Gateway partners to get Nevada a firm seat at the table.
Fourth, I’ll back more fuel storage.
Private storage in Las Vegas and Wells, plus emergency reserves for police, fire, hospitals and school buses. When the next outage hits, Nevada shouldn’t be running on fumes.
Fifth, I’ll use the state’s buying power.
Nevada runs a lot of vehicles. Long-term fuel contracts for state fleets can help anchor new supply that doesn’t come from California.
Sixth, I’ll open Nevada for business.
Eagle Springs needs crude oil to grow. That means friendlier state permitting and support for more oil leasing on federal land.
If you send me to Carson City, fuel security will be at the top of my list. That’s a promise.
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