California trying to keep oil and gas firms from leaving the state

Following 25 years of what oil and gas executives categorize as hostility to the industry, the state is now making a play to keep those companies from leaving. 

Concerned with the exodus of oil and gas companies, refinery closures and the expensive price of gasoline in the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation last week 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.

Andy Walz, Chevron’s president of Americas products, said during an appearance on FOX Business, “I think it’s been a tyranny of about 25 years to get the refining business to leave California.”

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Walz told reporters last summer about Chevron’s move from California to Texas, saying the company has “been doing that because California is a tough place to do business.”

“It’s a tough place to recruit people,” he said. “It’s a tough place to move employees – a lot of our employees move up through the company, they gain experience in different geographies, different locations, and we have a lot of people who will not move to California. That makes it difficult.”

FOX Business Network’s Lauren Simonetti said Chevron is “not overly optimistic about California’s recent charm offensive.” 

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Californians are paying $4.65 for a gallon of regular gasoline while the national average is $3.17 per gallon, according to AAA. 

There are 13 refineries currently in operation in the state. When Valero and Phillips 66 shut down theirs, that number will be down to 11. The state had 40 refineries in 1983.

“Millions of Californians will soon start saving billions on their energy costs,” Newsom said in a press release. “We’re stabilizing the state’s gasoline supply to avert severe price spikes at the pump and we’re making it easier to build the abundant clean energy we need to keep bills lower.”

Due to the exodus, California has had to rely on foreign sources for three quarters of its oil.

Gavin Newsom said of the legislation that it “mitigates against future gasoline spikes by stabilizing the production of in-state petroleum and refinery supply and diversifying the state’s transportation fuel supply.”