U.S. Refining Shortfall and Tightening Global Supply Put Western Fuel Markets at Risk
WOODS CROSS, UT / ACCESS Newswire / April 23, 2026 / Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYQ) ("Sky Quarry" or the "Company"), operator of the only operational refinery in Nevada and a strategically positioned asset in a constrained Western U.S. fuel market, today highlighted Donald Trump's various Presidential Determinations issued on April 20, 2026, pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (the "Determinations")1 and aimed at accelerating the development of critical U.S. energy infrastructure, including domestic petroleum refining capacity.
The Determinations emphasized that the development, manufacture, and deployment of large-scale energy infrastructure is essential to national defense and energy reliability and directed the use of authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to support and expand such activities. The Determinations also identified the need to strengthen domestic petroleum production, refining, and associated logistics capacities to ensure reliable domestic fuel supply.2
A System Under Stress: Tightening Supply in the Western U.S.
U.S. refining capacity has failed to keep pace with demand, an issue that is particularly acute in the Western United States. California, the region's dominant fuel market, has seen accelerating refinery closures and tightening environmental regulations that have systematically reduced in-state refining output, leaving the region increasingly dependent on imports and exposing the state to supply disruptions. California's stringent regulatory environment has, as a practical matter, significantly restricted the permitting of new refining capacity, and the structural gap between regional supply and demand continues to widen.
Drawdowns of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve cannot continue indefinitely. At the same time, geopolitical tensions and conflict in the Middle East, including the ongoing hostilities in Iran, are adding further uncertainty to global energy markets. The Western U.S. fuel market is not insulated from these pressures.
A Rare Asset in a Supply-Constrained Market
As permitting new refining capacity becomes increasingly difficult, assets like Sky Quarry's Eagle Springs Foreland refinery represent scarce, hard-to-replicate infrastructure. The refinery, located near Ely, Nevada, is a fully permitted, recently upgraded facility with a nameplate capacity of approximately 5,000 barrels per day, processing regional crude into diesel, vacuum gas oil (VGO), naphtha, and liquid paving asphalt for markets across Nevada and parts of the broader Intermountain West.
Sky Quarry is actively evaluating opportunities to align Foreland's operations with federal programs aimed at expanding domestic refining throughput, increasing transportation fuel production, and strengthening regional fuel distribution networks.
"These Presidential actions are a signal that the structural weaknesses in our energy system are now being taken seriously at the highest level of government," said Marcus Laun, Chief Executive Officer of Sky Quarry. "The Strategic Petroleum Reserve cannot be drawn down forever, California's regulatory environment continues to squeeze regional refining capacity, and geopolitical tensions and conflict involving Iran are adding real uncertainty to global supply. The Western U.S. is increasingly exposed. We believe our Nevada refinery, permitted, upgraded, and capable of approximately 5,000 barrels per day, is exactly the kind of domestic infrastructure this Administration is looking to support."
About Sky Quarry, Inc.
Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYQ) is an oil production and refining company that operates the Foreland Refinery, currently Nevada's only operating refinery, producing diesel, VGO, naphtha, and liquid paving asphalt from crude oil sourced from Nevada and Utah. The Company is also advancing its PR Spring facility in eastern Utah, which has approximately 5,900 acres of oil sands leases adjacent to the facility, focused on technologies to recover hydrocarbons from oil-saturated sands and soils and consumer waste, including asphalt shingles. For more information, please visit www.skyquarry.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements about the trends and developments in the energy industry, future rule and policy making, the Company's plans and strategy and any potential alignment with federal programs. All statements other than statements of historical fact may constitute forward-looking statements. The statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project," "may," "can," "if," or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions of management, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and circumstances or otherwise. You are urged to carefully review and consider the cautionary statements and the Company's other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings made with the SEC.
Investor and Media Contacts
Sky Quarry Inc.
Jennifer Standley, Director of Investor Relations
Ir@skyquarry.com
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¹ The White House, Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Development, Manufacturing, and Deployment of Large-Scale Energy and Energy-Related Infrastructure, April 2026. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/presidential-determination-pursuant-to-section-303-of-the-defense-production-act-of-1950-as-amended-on-development-manufacturing-and-deployment-of-large-scale-energy-and-energy-related-inf/
² The White House, Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Petroleum, Refining Capacity, and Energy Logistics Systems, April 2026. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/presidential-determination-pursuant-to-section-303-of-the-defense-production-act-of-1950-as-amended-on-domestic-petroleum-production-refining-and-logistics-capacity/
SOURCE: Sky Quarry
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/oil-gas-and-energy/sky-quarry-positioned-to-benefit-as-trump-administration-prioritizes-domestic-re-1160248
