More new CA oil drilling permits approved in Jan. 2026 than all of 2025 as oil lobby spending soars

In 2025, permit approvals for drilling new wells continued falling, but in the first three weeks of January alone, California oil regulators issued more new drilling permits than for all of 2025,

Share
More new CA oil drilling permits approved in Jan. 2026 than all of 2025 as oil lobby spending soars
Wooden "oil derricks" in front of the State Capitol in Sacramento during a protest against a law expanding oil drilling in Kern County that Governor Newsom signed at a time when climate disasters are ravaging the planet. Photo by Dan Bacher.