By Eric Eisenhammer, NARO-CA Member
Some people are surprised to hear that there is oil and gas production in California at all. In fact, California has long been among the nation’s top oil producing states.
For many years California rivaled Texas and Alaska in its production and in spite of years of anti-oil policies by our political leadership in Sacramento, California still ranks seventh in the nation in terms of production and has hundreds of thousands of oil and gas royalty owners and even more mineral owners. California royalty owners are everyday people including seniors, veterans, farmers, universities, churches, and nonprofits who use the funds from their royalties to uplift our communities.
Extreme restrictions on oil and gas production are now pushing California to a crisis point that’s also an opportunity for royalty owners to demand a change in policy. Congressman Tom McClintock, a strong supporter of property rights and the oil and gas industry, has warned in years past that Sacramento’s politically driven energy policies would one day lead the state to the brink of catastrophe, and only then would our leaders realize the harm their anti-oil policies are causing.
Now, declining production, driven solely by politics, threatens to take a major Central Valley pipeline offline, and two refinery closures planned for next year threaten to cause fuel shortages and rationing. Governors from neighboring states are sounding the alarm over supply chain disruptions as a result of California’s failed energy policies, and even California’s own Energy Commission has stated that a crisis is at hand:
“Gasoline imports statewide could increase to 25-35% of demand by the summer of 2026, and up to 50% in the northern California region after the announced anticipated refinery closures, bringing risk of supply disruptions and price volatility.”
In meetings with state and Federal officials, NARO-CA has urged leaders to investigate the national security and supply chain threats posed by California’s anti-oil program — policies undertaken for no sound reason other than for purposes of political grandstanding.
Even under their stated purpose of protecting the environment these policies have been an abject failure. The vast majority of California motorists — 27.4 million — continue to drive conventionally fueled vehicles. We pay the nation’s highest gas prices and fuel imports have skyrocketed, making us dependent on unstable regimes that lack California’s strict standards under which local producers operate.
While America as a whole is now a net oil exporter, California is importing over 60% of its oil from foreign sources, nearly half of which are countries in the Persian Gulf. A conflict in this unstable region would be disastrous for California fuel consumers, national security, the and the national supply chain.
The good news is NARO-CA’s dedicated advocacy for oil and mineral royalty owners is making a difference. Assemblyman Stan Ellis recently joined with University of Southern California professor Michael Mische to release a study exposing the security threats posed by California’s failed energy policy. This important report states:
“In any conflict scenario, U.S. force readiness and response plans require jet, diesel, and gasoline to prosecute war operations. As the vanguard to the Asia-Pacific Theater, the weight of U.S. Pacific readiness stands squarely on the shoulders of California and its refineries and gas and oil infrastructure. Given the current status and trajectory of California energy policy, it is not an issue of whether military fuel supplies will fail; that process has already begun.”
Action is also now underway on the Federal level as recognition grows that the problem is urgent. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently rescinded a cooperation arrangement with the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM). This decision signals Federal recognition that California officials are not reliable partners when it comes to meeting America’s energy needs.
Expressing gratitude for BLM’s decision to bypass California officials and move forward with authorizing new oil and gas production, California representatives Fong, Valadao, LaMalfa, and McClintock stated in a letter to US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum:
“It is unacceptable that CalGEM’s inaction and bureaucratic obstacles continue to obstruct the potential for increased domestic production, which could create jobs, increase royalty payments to the federal treasury, and stimulate significant economic growth.”
To be sure, many California politicians remain determined to shut down oil and gas production, but more and more people across the political spectrum are beginning to realize this policy doesn’t work and simply doesn’t make sense.
NARO-CA, the state’s only national organization dedicated solely to advocating for and defending the rights and interests of California’s oil and gas mineral and royalty owners, is an active and important participant in exposing the causes of California’s current energy crisis — and in offering a constructive path forward: restoring energy security by resuming responsible local production.
This not only benefits royalty owners. It benefits California, neighboring states and America as a whole.
