Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) stated that its Foreland Refinery gains strategic importance as Brent crude oil prices surged past $110 per barrel and California refinery closures reduce West Coast fuel capacity.

The company operates Nevada's only refinery with approximately 5,000 barrels per day of permitted capacity. The facility produces diesel, vacuum gas oil, naphtha, and liquid paving asphalt from crude oil sourced from Nevada and Utah.

Brent crude settled at approximately $112 per barrel on March 30, 2026, representing an increase of more than 50% since the beginning of the year. The price surge resulted from Middle East conflict that effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to most commercial traffic, according to the press release.

Nevada consumes more than 300,000 barrels per day of petroleum products but has no other in-state refining capacity, requiring nearly all refined fuels to be transported from refineries in neighboring states, primarily California, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

Two major California refineries are closing permanently. The Phillips 66 Wilmington refinery ceased crude processing operations at the end of 2025, while Valero's Benicia refinery is scheduled to close by mid-2026. Together, these facilities represent approximately 290,000 barrels per day of capacity.

"Nevada is one of the most import-dependent fuel markets in the country," said Marcus Laun, Chief Executive Officer of Sky Quarry. "If two of the largest California refineries serving the Western region close permanently and global oil prices spike above $110 a barrel, the question of where refined product comes from becomes urgent."

Sky Quarry also owns the PR Spring facility in eastern Utah, which contains an estimated 180 million barrels of asphaltic bitumen ore. The facility was constructed at a cost of more than $50 million and is designed to process oil sands ore into heavy oil.