The final oil tanker from the Middle East arrived at the Port of Long Beach on Monday, and California’s oil industry unloaded on the state’s Democratic leadership the same day it arrived.
“This is the consequence of shutting down in-state production in favor of foreign imports,” said Rock Zierman, CEO of the California Independent Petroleum Association, as per an exclusive report from The New York Post. “Slow permitting, illegal bans on well stimulation and urban production has led to our dependence on oil from the Middle East and the Amazon Rainforest.”
Zierman called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to convene an emergency meeting with industry leaders “to keep in-state refineries, pipelines, and wells operational so this problem doesn’t keep growing out of hand.”
The Western States Petroleum Association was equally blunt. “This shows the recklessness of California’s policy of intentionally outsourcing our critical energy infrastructure to other parts of the world,” spokesman Jim Stanley told the outlet. “California’s economy depends on a reliable supply of fuel — when that supply is interrupted, consumers and business pay the price.”
Chevron placed the blame squarely on Sacramento. “We believe many years of Sacramento’s adversarial policies toward refining and energy production have left the state at the end of a long, fragile supply chain,” a company spokesperson said. “California lost 18% of its refining capacity in just the past eight months because the state made those operations uncompetitive.”
The US Oil and Gas Association called the crisis entirely predictable. “Refineries are scrambling for replacement barrels from anywhere and shortages are on the horizon,” the group said in a statement. “That was predictable because decades of blocking in-state drilling, killing pipelines, imposing the nation’s strictest fuel specs, and driving refinery closures made the state dangerously dependent on foreign tankers.”
The group called on Newsom to declare a state energy emergency and fast-track domestic production permits.
Newsom’s office rejected industry criticism and pointed the finger at Washington. “Trump’s Iran war has driven US gas prices up 44% to a four-year high,” the governor’s office said in a statement Friday. “Every more expensive fill-up, grocery run, and flight is a Trump Iran war tax — and there’s still no plan to bring it down.”
