OPINION:
It’s easy to forget that energy markets are global until they are disrupted, sometimes very far from home.
The unprecedented closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting oil shock have triggered one of the most severe energy disruptions since the 1970s, delivering a reminder that America’s energy security cannot be taken for granted.
American families continue to anxiously watch the fallout in their gas prices.
I remind my neighbors in El Dorado, Arkansas, that we do play a role in this global energy market, thanks to our local refineries. Though they are considered “small refineries,” they couldn’t play a bigger role in our community as our county’s top employers.
Yet proposed policies would devastate small refineries across the country, including those in El Dorado. These refineries are essential to maintaining America’s energy security. A combination of legislation that permits year-round blending of ethanol (up to 15% or “E15”) and removes small refinery exemptions from ethanol mandates could trigger widespread closures of small refineries.
That could escalate the energy affordability crisis precisely when Americans can least afford it.
Events in the Middle East should be a wake-up call. When supply chains collapse and international tensions flare, America’s energy security depends on one critical asset: a strong, diversified domestic refining sector capable of reliably producing the affordable fuel U.S. families depend on every day.
Thirty-seven small but mighty refineries scattered across rural communities nationwide provide 1.8 million barrels per day of U.S. refining capacity. To put this into perspective, that’s enough fuel to meet the daily needs of millions of American families.
This is a capacity we simply cannot afford to lose amid the global energy volatility we are witnessing today.
These aren’t just energy facilities; they are economic lifelines to more than 385,000 direct and indirect high-quality American jobs in communities that depend on them. We’re talking about plant operators, maintenance workers, truck drivers and countless others whose livelihoods are tied to these facilities.
Hundreds of employees and contractors make their living at El Dorado’s refineries. That easily makes them some of the top employers in Union County, home to about 40,000 people.
When small refineries such as those in El Dorado close, entire towns suffer the consequences.
American communities understand what happens when manufacturing jobs leave town. Refinery jobs averaging $120,000 per year, many of them union positions, could disappear overnight. Closures would reduce local tax revenue that funds schools, public safety and infrastructure. Local businesses that partner with refineries will lose a steady stream of business.
The consequences are severe.
We know from numerous studies that compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard can add approximately $10 per barrel in costs, expenses that could be passed directly to consumers at the pump.
Lawmakers face a choice in this unprecedented moment. They can either reinforce America’s domestic refining capacity or bow to special interests with policies that will weaken it, leaving our nation more vulnerable to the next global crisis.
The path forward is clear: Congress must preserve the Small Refinery Exemption and reject mandates that would force closures of facilities critical to American energy production, jobs and affordability.
These aren’t abstract policy debates. They are decisions that will directly affect whether American families can afford to fill their gas tanks and maintain their quality of life.
The Iran conflict has reminded us that energy security is national security. We cannot allow short-sighted policies and special interests to dismantle the domestic refining infrastructure that insulates American families from global turmoil.
Our small refineries are not expendable; they are essential. Let’s make sure they stay open.
• Steven Jones is president and CEO of the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce in El Dorado, Arkansas.
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