The California legislators passed a law at the weekend that is intended to enable the construction of thousands of new oil sources in the Golden State per year. The aim is to make the oil anxiety for refineries more affordable and to stabilize the fuel prices for consumers.
The new law, SB 237, stipulates that the oil -rich core County will receive up to 2,000 permits annually from January 2026. This is intended to provide California oil producers up to 25 % of crude oil for the state’s refinery complex and thus contribute to reducing the costs for the end consumers of petrol.
According to the California Energy Commission, California produced 119,000 barrels of oil per day last year, with producers delivering around 23 % to the domestic refineries. Two refineries that make up around 17 % of California petrol production capacity are to be closed within the next year. These closures, together with further decommissioning and the conversion of refineries for the production of renewable fuels, are likely to make California even more dependent on more expensive fuel imports, which would continue to drive up prices.
“Few topics are more politically sensitive than petrol prices at the petrol. Since governor Gavin Newsom is considered a presidential presidential candidate for 2028, rising fuel prices and decreasing production in the state have suddenly become central,” said Josh Young, Chief Investment Officer at BISON Interests.
“In response to this, his government is driving a significant change of policy that aims to accelerate the permits for new holes and an increase in local production.”
(Report by Nicole Jao in New York; editing by Nia Williams)
