Gov. Gavin Newsom's unprecedented announcement of bans on fracking and oil production in the state will do nothing to end the demand for energy products, a petroleum advocate said in a recent statement.
In his statement issued the same day Newsom announced an end to fracking in California by 2024 and in-state oil production to be phased out by 2045, California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA) Chief Executive Officer Rock Zierman called Newsom's announcement "legally questionable." Zierman also warned that Newsom's announcement "will undermine California’s climate leadership," if it pans out as described.
"Curbing in-state production through a well stimulation ban would not change the fact that Californians demand 1.4 million barrels of oil each day," Zierman said. "Instead of meeting our vast needs with California oil produced under the planet's strictest regulations, we would economically reward foreign regimes who do not share our environmental standards and human rights values."
During a news conference in September, the governor was asked whether he had the authority to ban hydraulic fracturing administratively, through executive order.
"Well, we simply don't have that authority," Newsom said. "That's why we need the Legislature to approve it."
The Legislature did not comply. Newsom's announcement about the energy production bans followed defeat of Senate Bill 467, which would have phased out fracking, among other oil-producing technologies in the state, over the next few years.
SB 467 also would have mandated almost a half-mile of health and safety buffers around existing oil operations.
"The climate crisis is real, and we continue to see the signs every day," Newsom said in the news release, in which he announced the bans on energy production in the state. "As we move to swiftly decarbonize our transportation sector and create a healthier future for our children, I’ve made it clear I don’t see a role for fracking in that future and, similarly, believe that California needs to move beyond oil."
The state's Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division will "initiate regulatory action" to stop the issuance of new fracking permits by January 2024. Newsom said he also asked the California Air Resources Board to "analyze pathways" that would phase out oil extraction in the state no later than 2045.
"It's disappointing that the governor's legally questionable announcement will undermine California’s climate leadership," Zierman said.
Zierman also maintained that climate targets can only be reached by working together.
"Meeting significant climate targets will require large scale projects like carbon capture and using idle wells to store back up energy," Zierman said in the conclusion of his statement. "Investment in these climate innovations will only be made possible if our industry is able to operate in California."