Since Newsom took office, the share of California’s oil that is imported from other countries has spiked to 63 percent
California governor Gavin Newsom (D.) declared this week that a Trump administration proposal to expand oil drilling off the coast of his state is “Dead on arrival.” His opposition comes as California relies on imported oil from authoritarian states like Iraq and Saudi Arabia to meet its energy demand.
Newsom made the remark during the ongoing U.N. climate summit in Brazil. He was addressing media reports that the Trump Department of the Interior is mulling plans to lease large chunks of federal waters off the California coast to oil companies. Those plans are likely to be finalized and released as early as next week, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The federal government hasn’t held an offshore oil lease sale in California in more than three decades amid vociferous opposition from Newsom and environmental groups. More offshore drilling, though, could prove to be an economic boon for California, which has some of the nation’s highest gasoline and electricity prices thanks in part to policies that make it harder for companies to produce and refine oil. As a result, 63.5 percent of California’s oil is imported from foreign nations, and its imports of gasoline hit an all-time high earlier this year.
In 2024, Iraq was the largest foreign supplier of oil to California, sending the Golden State more than 68 million barrels of oil, according to state data. The Middle Eastern nation has few environmental laws governing its oil industry while recent oil spills have contaminated large swaths of once-productive Iraqi farmland, Agence France-Presse reported.
Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Colombia also sent significant oil supplies to California in 2024. Newsom entered into climate agreements with some of those nations—Brazil and Colombia—at the U.N. summit this week. “California is proud to unite shoulder-to-shoulder with Chile, Colombia, and Brazil to deliver real results for people and the planet,” the governor said.
Newsom also struck a climate deal with Nigeria, which has exported tens of millions of barrels of oil to California during the Newsom administration.
Still, California Natural Resources Agency secretary Wade Crowfoot said the risk of more drilling “is simply too high.”
“If the Trump administration chooses to go down this path and sell out our coastal communities to the highest bidder, we will stand firm in our commitment to protecting our coastline and the people of California,” Crowfoot said in a statement to the Free Beacon.
Overall, since Newsom took office in 2019, the share of California’s oil that is imported from other countries has increased from 58.4 percent to 63.4 percent. The share that is produced in the state has simultaneously fallen from 29.7 percent to 23.3 percent.
During his tenure, total oil production in the state has declined 30 percent from 156.4 million barrels a year to 109.9 million barrels a year.
Decreasing production and Newsom-backed regulations, meanwhile, have caused multiple closures of oil refineries with two more slated to occur within the next six months. After those closures, the state will have just seven refineries that produce gasoline.
The closures are forecast to cause already-high gasoline prices in the state to increase, even as much of the country sees price decreases. A University of Southern California analysis estimated that gasoline prices could ultimately surpass $8 per gallon by the end of 2026 as a result of the closures.
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