California’s Oil Rush Slips Into Its Final Act

OilPrice · Natalia Katona · last updated December 4, 2025 – 3:10 PM

California’s experiment in climate governance has turned the state’s oil and refining sector into one of the most politically charged energy battlegrounds in the world. A long-standing commitment to environmental targets – culminating in a planned end to oil extraction by 2045 – has collided with the realities of high demand, aging infrastructure, and a shrinking refining base. Oil output has already plunged from 760,000 b/d in 2000 to roughly 250,000 b/d in 2025, while the number of operational refineries has fallen from…

here today, more tomorrow

We’ve launched briefing.center with a focus on the press and media.

And we’ve added Citizen Cartwright, a daily quick-read news summary by veteran Washington journalist Linda Cartwright. We’ve also created a new voting rights knowledge center for Citizen Cartwright subscribers. (You can sign up for a dedicated morning email at citizencartwright.com.)

You can sign up here for full access to press and media and Citizen Cartwright on briefing.center.

You can use briefing.center as the center of your information management, or just one of your tools. We’re happy to discuss your information needs.