SACRAMENTO, California — PBF Energy CEO Matthew Lucey hammered California’s oil and gas policies in a call with investors Thursday, saying the state was to blame for high gasoline prices that persisted through a period in which the company reported operating losses.
In a quarterly earnings call, Lucey pushed back against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s accusations at a press conference two weeks ago accusing oil and gas companies of “screwing” Californians by driving up gasoline prices at the pump. Newsom made the comments after signing ABX 2-1, which tries to prevent gasoline price spikes by giving the state new authority to require refiners to store more gas.
“The assault on the industry continues from the regulators and the politicians in California,” Lucey said. “He essentially vilified, attacked our integrity, called me, all my colleagues and everyone else in the industry liars and accused us of stealing from people in California.”
“I was certainly offended by the press conference, but it is what it is,” Lucey said. “The reality is the state doesn’t address the root cause of the problem — it only exasperates it.”
