I am smiling for Nalleli Cobo today, the young activist who has spent her short life recovering from illness related to growing up 30 feet from an oil well and fighting against the oil drilling industry to ban wells near communities. The oil drillers have just agreed to pull back...

Sacramento, CA - Legislation charging $10,000 per day to oil wells producing less than 15 barrels per day within a half mile of a community passed out of the California Senate Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 6 to 4. The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.It’s estimated...

The California Energy Commission and newly created Division of Petroleum Market Oversight provided valuable analysis at a recent workshop on the summer outlook for gasoline prices. It all boils down to how many days of supply refiners keep on hand to avoid price spikes.  Lack of enough days of gasoline...

Sacramento, CA – Legislation holding oil drillers liable for health harms caused by their wells within a half mile of a community failed to come up for a vote on the Assembly floor by the deadline for bills to move to the Senate. AB 3155 (Friedman) would have held oil drillers...

Sacramento, CA -- Legislation holding oil drillers accountable for low production wells in communities has passed the California Assembly.  AB 2716, authored by Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan (D-55, Los Angeles), charges $10,000 per day to oil wells producing less than 15 barrels per day within a half mile of a...

Sacramento, CA - As a bill holding oil drillers accountable for health harms awaits a vote on the California Assembly Floor, Chevron reported spending $3 million lobbying in the first three months of the year to defeat that bill, AB 3155, the only bill it claims to be lobbying...

Sacramento, CA - Two bills holding oil drillers accountable for drilling within 3200 feet of a community passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee today by a vote of 11 - 4 and go to the Assembly floor. Assembly Bill 3155 (Friedman) creates new financial liability for oil producers for harm from...

Sacramento, CA –  In comments filed with the California Energy Commission (CEC) Friday, Consumer Watchdog made the case for a maximum gross refining margin that penalizes refiners for profits of over 70 cents per gallon.   The nonprofit group pointed to state data showing 2022 and 2023 as unprecedented years for refining margins...

Sacramento, CA—Assembly Bill 3155 (Friedman), which creates new financial liability for oil producers for harm from community oil drilling, cleared its second policy committee today and now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill passed out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee last night by a vote of...

Los Angeles, CA—In a historic first, California oil regulators approved zero new drilling permits in the first quarter of 2024, effectively halting new drilling permit approvals at 5,947 since Governor Newsom came to office in 2019, according to Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance. Newsom's regulators have issued a total of 15,940 well...

Sacramento, CA— Activist and cancer survivor Nalleli Cobo gave testimony today in support of Assembly Bill 3155 (Friedman), which creates new financial liability for oil producers for harm from community oil drilling. The bill passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee today by a vote of 7 to 3...

Sacramento, CA -- Oil companies drilling for oil within a half mile of community residents produce a tiny trickle of oil—2.1 barrels of oil per day per well on average, according to new data from the FracTracker Alliance.   Consumer Watchdog said the data makes the case for passage of California...

Los Angeles, CA— Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan (D-55, Los Angeles) introduced legislation today to charge $10,000 per day to oil wells producing less than 15 barrels per day within a half mile of a community. It’s estimated that 2.7 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an oil well. These...

Sacramento, CA --  More than twenty public interest groups pointed to new state data showing that California oil refiners averaged more than $1 per gallon in gross profits during 2023 and called on the California Energy Commission to adopt a price gouging penalty by summer. Today, the CEC will hold...

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has wisely postponed a March vote on the new acceleration of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which is designed to decrease the carbon intensity in fuels.   A staff analysis found that acceleration of the program could result in a 47 cents per gallon...