Oil pumpjack, San Benito County. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)
What Does California Need to Stabilize the State’s Oil Supply?
‘While this policy change is well-intentioned, it is likely not sufficient to stabilize the state’s pipeline and refining infrastructure’
By Katy Grimes, October 31, 2025 2:45 am
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in September that fast tracks the approval of 2,000 new wells per year over the next 10 years in Kern County, a significant oil-producing region.
“Translation: I, Gavin C. Newsom, am slightly reversing course on my own policies because they suck and would have driven gas and electricity prices even higher,” Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher posted on X. “Nonetheless I am not lowering any of those costs. Good luck to you California. I’m busy running for President.”
Gallagher nailed Gov. Newsom’s motive.
California Democrats’ war on the oil and gas industry is working, but not for the people, or the oil and gas industry. Governor Gavin Newsom in April directed state officials to increase efforts to guarantee reliable fuel supplies for the nation’s biggest auto market, prompting oil companies to blame state policies for difficult business conditions and high pump prices.
But California’s gas prices have remained the highest in the country. Today AAA reports the national average cost of a gallon of gas at $3.04, and California’s average is at $4.58 per gallon – California’s average is $1.54 higher than the national average. The highest in California is in Mono County at $5.83 per gallon.
Only now does Governor Gavin Newsom make a serious move to address the oil and gas industry in California. While it is something and a positive move, it’s nowhere near what the state need to provide Californians the oil, gas and fuel the state needs.
A Policy Brief on Stabilizing California’s Oil Supply Under SB 237, by Joseph B. Silvi of UC Berkeley, James W. Rector of UC Berkeley, and Michael A. Mische of USC, examines the ability of Senate Bill 237 to stabilize California’s energy infrastructure and supply, maintain refinery and pipeline operations, and ensure energy security amid refinery closures and increasing foreign dependence.
The professors note in the first paragraph:
“California’s in-state oil production has declined by approximately 65% since 2001, while its dependency on foreign imports has risen by nearly 70%. At the same time, refinery capacity has fallen 21% since 2023 and gasoline demand remains largely unchanged at roughly 36–40 million gallons per day. SB 237, designed to permit up to 2,000 new wells annually in Kern County, will add some production but not enough to offset the overall statewide decline and will not adequately stabilize the state’s petroleum infrastructure.”
As the Globe just reported this week, California’s self-inflicted gas crisis is a direct threat to U.S. military force readiness on the West Coast. This in-state oil production crisis is as serious as it gets for the Golden State.
As Silvi, Rector and Mische say in their brief, “California refinery capacity will decline 21% by 2026, eliminating 6.2 million gallons/day of in-state gasoline production. Only 7 refineries will remain capable of producing California-compliant fuels by 2026.”
They offer background:
At one time, California was the leading producer of crude oil in the world, yet today, the Golden State is facing a potential gasoline supply crisis. Long-standing policies and an adverse political and regulatory attitude have resulted in a steady reduction in both California’s in-state oil production and refinery capacity, leading to increased dependency on oil and, potentially, more gasoline from foreign sources, such as Iraq, Ecuador, Brazil, and, at times, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. Already saddled with the highest regulatory costs and taxes in the nation, retail gasoline prices in California are over 50% higher than the U.S. average.1 2 With the imminent closure of two refineries and the loss of at least 20% of its in-state refinery capacity to produce gasoline, or around 6.5 million gallons a day, as well as the potential loss of California’s largest inland pipeline which supplies crude oil to Northern California, California could be confronting double-digit gasoline price increases, and worse, gasoline shortages and lines at the pump.
In response to the growing potential crisis, Governor Newsom and the California Legislature reversed years of anti-oil policy and passed SB 237. In a stunning contradiction to the stated viewpoint that “increasing CA oil production will not change gasoline production capacity and may only marginally change production costs,”3 SB 237 was enacted and signed by the Governor with the intent of allowing up to 2,000 new oil drilling permits annually within Kern County as the means to increase California’s oil production and stabilize its pipeline and refining infrastructure. However, while this policy change is well-intentioned, it is likely not sufficient to stabilize the state’s pipeline and refining infrastructure.
In September, State Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) announced that Senate Bill 237 was signed by Governor Newsom to certify the Kern County Environmental Impact Report (EIR), enabling streamlined permitting to expand oil and gas production while maintaining environmental protections. “SB 237 addresses California’s critical decline in domestic oil production, which has forced the state to import nearly 80% of its oil to meet consumer demand,” Grove said in a press statement.”
“Under SB 237, Kern County will now be able to approve up to 2,000 new well drilling permits per year for the next 10 years. This long-term certainty strengthens Kern County’s position as the Energy Capital of California, stabilizes the supply chain, and helps protect Californians from painful swings in fuel prices at the pump. By comparison, the state approved only 84 new well permits last year and just a handful so far this year.”
Also notable was Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) President and CEO Jodie Muller’s statement following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature on a package of energy legislation, including SB 237:
“Today Governor Newsom signed SB 237, increasing crude production in Kern County under the most stringent regulatory framework in the country.”
“…under the most stringent regulatory framework in the country.” Notably, that stringent regulatory framework remains.
Rock Zierman, CEO of the California Independent Petroleum Association said, “Every barrel of oil produced in-state means fewer foreign tankers idling off California’s coast, lower gasoline prices, and more money staying in local communities to fund schools, first responders, and healthcare.”
As Silvi, Rector and Mische say in their brief, “However, while this policy change is well-intentioned, it is likely not sufficient to stabilize the state’s pipeline and refining infrastructure.”
“Moreover, while SB 237 attempts to address production and supply concerns, California’s energy policy must also consider climate impacts, environmental protection, and social justice. Producing crude oil in-state must meet the most rigorous environmental standards in the world and is subject to emissions mitigation programs, reducing methane, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other pollutants compared with production in countries with weaker oversight.”
Their conclusion pulls no punches:
“The additional wells allowed under SB 237 will not stabilize in-state production, and as a result, in-state production will continue to decline as it is more than likely that producers will not drill 2,000 wells annually.”
“Furthermore, due to the imminent loss of two and potentially up to four refineries, California will be increasingly dependent on foreign sourced gasoline from suppliers such as India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and, perhaps, China. India receives 40% of its crude oil from Russia, while China receives a significant portion of its crude stock for gasoline from Iran, Russia, and Venezuela.”
Read the entire report by Berkeley and USC Professors Silvi, Rector and Mische to understand California’s future with refineries closing, and California’s declining in-state oil production. They deliver the facts, the data, the graphs, consumption and California’s astounding history of oil production… until recently.
A Study of SB 237 to Stabilize Oil Production in California - Definitive
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
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What sticks out for me from this extremely important report from Mische, Rector, and Silvi is the utter uselessness of symbolic SB 237 for drilling in Kern, the fact that natural oil seepage from the ocean bed far outweighs highly publicized scare stories of man-made oil spillage (and would be dramatically mitigated by purposeful oil extraction), the spectre of entirely plausible and sooner-than-you-think $12 a gallon gas from additional shuttering of refineries, state taxes and oil-extraction-choking policies, reliance and thus import of (dirty) foreign oil, etc., modern clean extraction technology that puts the lie to endless politician and enviro claims of unacceptable extraction pollution, and constantly diminishing supply to an eventual trickle due to these factors over time, and with no end in sight. And this is only a partial list. It doesn’t take a super-genius to further conclude that this would affect our military readiness and create a critical national emergency when we most need a reliable fuel supply the state can and should be providing. But it strikes me that the state will likely collapse economically in the meantime even before we must face such a military-readiness crisis.
For all of these crushing worries and state and national insecurity we can thank our feckless and destructive governor, Gavin Newsom, his lapdog CARB, the state’s lawmakers who are also on board with Newsom, to some extent his predecessor Jerry Brown, and so-called “environmental” policies that actually make the enviro problems they pretend to solve MUCH MUCH MUCH worse than they would EVER EVER EVER be without their “help.”
Thanks so much Dem-Marxist CA “leadership”: governor, unelected bureaucrats (CARB) and Dem-Marxist lawmakers whose bank accounts are dependent on their extremely misguided loyalties while they breezily sacrifice the interests of the Californians they are duty-bound to serve every single step of the way for as long as any CA resident can remember. Good job! We’re so appreciative! NOT.
The only way to fix the problem is to figuritively burn sacramento to the ground and rebuild from the bottom up. New wells won’t help anything if there is no refinery capacity.
The Marxist Democrats have done irreparable harm to the state’s gasoline supply by forcing the closure of two refineries. This is what happens when you have dumb, ignorant, incompetent people running the government.
Does anybody comprehend the complexity, breadth and expansiveness of a refinery?
Donald Trump did eternal damage to California and America by not invoking the provisions he has at hand to halt the dismantling the Phillips and Valero refineries.
Oh look, Hair-gel Hitler Newsom’s evil Democrat troll Eyeinthesky is once again trying to deflect for his boss and his criminal Democrat thug mafia masters who did NOTHING to stop the closure of the refineries while doing everything they could to chase them out of the state!
These refinery closures in California are prudent business decisions made by corporate executives. The refineries and many other businesses are fleeing the high operational costs and onerous regulatory burdens that have been forced upon them by Hair-gel Hitler Newsom and his criminal Democrat thug mafia. The president and federal government have no authority to prevent any business closures in California.
Hair-gel Hitler Newsom and his criminal Democrat thug mafia have made it almost impossible to run a profitable business in California. They’ve destroyed the once golden state of California!
AMEN
The buzz all over DC is that Donald Trump will resign first of the year. The Epstein issues and pornographic pictures he sent to Epstein and others are incriminating and potentially criminally evidencury in nature.
Donald Trump needs to kick back, elevate his feet and ponder his past; Epstein escapades, bankruptcies and his litany of evil deeds to include the monetary favor he accepted from Soros, part of an investment deal in Chicago that soured. Trump’s knowledge of what may soon be revealed regarding his association with Epstein is heavy on his mind thus the unrelenting effort to keep the disclosures sealed and possibly a contributing factor to unfortunately his failing health.
Elon Musk bailed on Trump as he deemed Trump’s past conduct especially with Epstein and friends to be repugnant and putrid: Musk simply couldn’t be associated with the terminal debt Trump and the Republicans finally cast onto the American people. Musk was deeply opposed to Trump’s reniging on his promise to reduce the federal debt to instead further drive America toward insolvency.
Regarding California and Prop, 50, what’s with the panic and dismay. Jerry Brown brought malise upon California eons ago and nothing was done then to counter his sinister acts. Prop 50 is the culmination of the abysmal failure of the legacy Californians to protect what they had. Their headonistic persuits eclipsed the issues pertinent to their survival.
One would think California’s crippling gas prices would have facilitated Newsom’s recall especially given a highly qualified replacement was party to the recall. imagine life today in California under the governorance of Larry Elder.
Trump and Bondi had before them all the elements of the crime of sedition to prosecute Newsom for the said crimes. Newsom knew this then literally dared Trump to carry out his arrest; “He knows where I can be found, I’m waiting”. Donald and the administration cowered. Had the most dangerous figurehead working to destroy California and America been arrested and charged, the prop 50 nonsense and fraud might not have gained traction. The blood of California and America is on the hands of Trump and those who support him.
Donald Trump is living in the ultimate of glass houses; so compromised is Trump he’s operationally neutered/begnine. Donald Trump received a massive campaign contribution from a party whose primary allegiance is not to the USA; $100 million; just another reason Trump should resign.
Peruse the statutes regarding the diminished powers of government officials while under incictment for felonious crimes. Trump and Bondi could have ended Newsom’s rampage but for your pleasure and clearly approvals did not.
Trump’s obvious hands off policy regarding issues that are rooted of California should invoke your concern as the deep state through Gavin are destroying California and America; Donald Trump complicit as corrupt he’s honoring a hands off California/Gavin edict.
Subsequent to Trump’s resignation and return to Mar Lago you may want to offer to go there too to wash his painful feet.
Prop 50 coming your way along with Pan and Weiner.
Bear in mind, anything Trump could have done to preclude the Prop 50 fraud and conspiracy he chose to avoid.
Donald Trump paving your road to hell.
Geez, man, take your meds….
No kidding.
Newsom’s mentally-ill Democrat troll Eyeinthesky is suffering from terminal TDS and has resorted to spewing crapola that’s laughably unhinged.
Let’s discuss Eyeinthesky’s boss Hair-gel Hitler Newsom who is a compromised sleazeball. Early in his political career he got caught having an affair with his best friend’s wife. He’s probably been involved in many tawdry sexual escapades over the years while hanging around the likes of Diddy, Harvey Weinstein and other Hollywood perverts? It was revealed during Harvey Weinstein’s rape and sexual abuse trial that Newsom’s wife Jennifer was one of Weinstein’s willing trollops. After she claimed that Weinstein had raped her, it embarrassingly came out that she had later contacted Weinstein for advice on how to handle Newsom’s sexual escapades. Ooops! She’s as much of a sleazeball as he is?
Just like Hitler would have done, Newsom mandated experimental mRNA shots that have proven to be toxic and in many cases deadly. He purchased over a billion dollars of masks from a CCP connected company in China without going through the proper purchasing procedures most of which were never delivered. He locked healthy Californians down while he and his cronies traveled freely and dined like royalty at the French Laundry restaurant. The covid scamdemic that Newsom and his Democrat cronies kept going for almost five years was probably very profitable for them?
No doubt exploiting the homeless along with the human trafficking involving innocent children and illicit drug smuggling has been very profitable for Hair-gel Hitler Newsom and his Democrat cronies? Selling aborted fetal tissue and baby body parts are also probably very profitable for them?
Eyeinthesky’s boss Hair-gel Hitler Newsom is the one who needs to resign. California has been turned into a hellish nightmare by him and his criminal Democrat thug mafia. They all need to be dragged before tribunals and be held accountable for all the horrific crimes that they’ve committed.
Now run along Eyeinthesky and go take your psych meds.
BTW, Elon Musk and the president publicly reconciled at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. They were seen warmly greeting each other and cordially conversing. Shortly after their meeting, the Trump administration announced a new deal with xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, to provide federal agencies access to its Grok chatbot through a partnership with the General Services Administration. Musk also expressed willingness to advise Trump moving forward. Their rift was probably not real in the first place and might have been staged in order to save Tesla which being violently attacked by crazy unhinged Democrats like Eyeinthesky.
It is very unfortunate you have no idea what the “city of London” is. If you did you would realize that there is A LOT going on…DT has been severing the ties to the nefarious Spider Web. For normies to grasp this you have follow something that many will consider EXTREMELY dry and boring but EXTREMELY important. International bond markets. That is where the real action is…not the stock markets. I recommend you watch Promethean Updates and Tom Luongo…both on YouTube amongst other platforms.
Is it Trumps duty to override Newscum and fix all his destruction? I guess Pie in the Eye really loves and respects President Trump!
Short answer: VOTE NO on 50 and kick out the Democrat legislators and their CARB minions…
Just wait til the natural oil seep fouls the beaches like it did in my childhood and watch the Demo-weenies in the state freak out from the “pollution”…
Maybe they’ll file suit against The Earth to stop it from polluting their Democracy…
The same folks who opted to not recall Newsom are the folks supporting prop 50.
California and Louisiana tied for first for civil poverty factor.
The masses feeding at the trough will support any Newsom proposal as he’s their Messiah.
In America had the right to vote not been extended to welfare recipients and all government employees things would be different.
Well on the upside the BoomerWaffen that gather weekly to push DNC propaganda on Highway 1 were looking like a very thin crowd yesterday. It is down to handful of old ladies.
Eyeinthesky laughably wants us to think that voters are the ones who determine who gets elected in California?
Eyeinthesky’s criminal Democrat thug masters are experts at stealing elections with voter fraud. They make sure that the voter rolls are never cleaned up. They make sure illegals and dead people vote at least once. Long after an election day, they’ll keep counting mail-in ballots they’ve created until they get the election outcome that they want. They’ll also rig voting machines to assist them in their election steals.
Eyeinthesky will never wake up.
TJ
We’re on the same side with the exception of Donald Trump: The bad part is it’ll be President Vance soon as Trump is in a graveyard spiral 90 deg. circumferally down.
The problem America is facing is simple: There’s no steadfast accountability financial nor legal. The damn politicians were forced to respect and who maintain dominion over us are in sever beach of fiduciary duty.
Simply watch the price of beans and gold. The rest of the occurrences contrived BS created with the intended to deceive and divert attention away from actuality.
Only God can create gold, man cannot: There is nothing more a politician dislikes than accountability; IOW the inability to make hollow promises.
Politicians create fiat money and laws. Thus and therefore we’re in a state of total chos; accountability not withstanding we have no sustainable system therefore we have nothing but crippling and dabilitating debt the consequences of which are ignored until there’s no more road to kick the can down, then all hell will break loose.
The fiscal mathematicians converge on the passing through of simple debt of $40 Trillion.
Anyway, our difference as stated herein.
Eyeinthesky
Same side? Completely delusional! Eyeinthesky never posts anything negative about Hair-gel Hitler Newsom or the criminal Democrat thug mafia that controls the state. Instead Eyeinthesky will try to deflect for them by blaming the president for the dystopian mess they’ve made of California.
Eyeinthesky suffers from terminal TDS and desperately needs psych meds.