State oil and gas regulators approved just three new drilling permits in the first quarter of 2025 compared to zero approvals the same quarter last year, according to a new analysis by Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance. Overall, single digit approvals for new wells continue a trend of dramatic permit approval drops. Today, the number approved is 99.6% lower than in 2019 as California continues to pursue greenhouse gas emissions reductions and take steps to protect public health, particularly in frontline communities.
However, the groups warn that these gains could be undermined as Kern County, California's oil drilling epicenter, prepares to resume issuing thousands of its own permits potentially under a single blanket environmental review. At the same time, legislation advancing in Sacramento aims to lift the state's moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines, paving the way for risky carbon capture projects.
"Governor Newsom has taken real action to prevent long-term greenhouse gas emissions by slowing new drilling in populated areas," said Kyle Ferrar, Western Director of FracTracker Alliance. "But 2025 is a turning point. California will either secure its climate gains or allow the oil and gas industry to flood the state with thousands of new permits again."
Kern County's Blanket Permitting Plan Raises Alarms
Over the past two years, California has moved away from rubber-stamping oil and gas drilling permits. But Kern County is now seeking to sidestep individual environmental reviews for each new well, hoping to use a single Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for thousands of sites. The California Court of Appeal struck down this approach in 2020 and again in 2024, citing failures to assess air quality, noise impacts, cancer risks, water impacts, and threats to farmland. The revised plan heads to a hearing before the Kern County Planning Commission in June and then the County Board of Supervisors later this summer.
"Kern's plan to fast-track oil permits under a flawed EIR is a direct threat to public health and environmental justice," said Ferrar. "Even if the county moves forward, the state must not rubber-stamp permits without properly evaluating the risks under CEQA."
CO2 Pipeline Legislation Threatens to Undermine Progress
Simultaneously, two bills—CA AB 881 (Petrie-Norris) and CA SB 614 (Stern)—that would lift California's moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines, are moving through the legislature. These pipelines are a key enabler of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that draw carbon from smokestacks and bury them underground, which critics say are unproven and unsafe.
"Allowing CO2 pipelines is a gift to oil companies trying to greenwash their operations," said Liza Tucker, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog. "We're cutting back on oil drilling permits, only to clear the path for dangerous carbon infrastructure that threatens communities."
Pipeline leaks can lead to suffocation of people nearby. Tucker cited a 2021 CO2 pipeline rupture in Mississippi that hospitalized dozens and left some permanently disabled. "These are unproven technologies that actually increase emissions, air pollution, and energy costs. The CO2 pipeline moratorium must stay in place until federal safety standards are overhauled and California adopts its own protections tailored to the state's geography."
Chevron, California Resources Corp (CRC), and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) are lobbying in support of getting AB 881 passed, according to lobbying forms filed at the Secretary of State's Office. Chevron spent a total of $3.7 million on lobbying in the first quarter; CRC spent nearly $208,000, and WSPA spent a total of $3.4 million.
Climate Progress Hangs in the Balance
Since taking office in 2019, Governor Newsom's administration has approved 17,677 new drilling and rework permits. While the pace of approval has slowed significantly, watchdogs caution that total emissions from new projects could rise if loopholes like Kern County's single EIR or pipeline legislation are allowed to proceed.
In the first quarter, while three permits were approved to drill new wells, permits approved to rework or redrill conventional oil and gas wells fell. Permits to rework or redrill wells using enhanced oil recovery techniques—such as steaming to bring oil up from below—were more than three times higher than in the first quarter of 2024.