California’s Anti-Energy Policies Come Back to Bite

October 1, 2019

Last month’s attacks on Saudi Arabian oil fields temporarily cut off more than 50 percent of Saudi oil from reaching the global market, which means the world’s second-largest oil producer threatened business in every nation.

Gas prices in the U.S. rose a mere 10 cents nationwide in the week after the attacks and have since ticked down a few cents. A big reason gas prices didn’t spike is due to the thriving U.S. oil production, which has doubled since 2012 to about 12.5 million barrels a day and added about six million barrels to global supply. America’s spike in domestic oil production has positioned the U.S. as the number one oil producer in the world and developed our energy independence.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal, gas prices in California have shot up 30 cents a gallon in the last week to a statewide average of $4.03 a gallon. Oil production in the Golden State has declined about 18% since 2012 as older wells are exhausted and regulatory costs make it less profitable to drill new ones. And due to environmental regulations, few refineries outside of the state produce the unique fuel blends required by California.

To make up for its declining domestic production, California retailers must import foreign gasoline at steep prices from countries like Saudi Arabia. Now add on California’s 61-cent-a-gallon gas tax, the highest in the country, and this is why gas prices are now nearly $1.40 higher than the U.S. average.

“Saudi Arabia is showing us how dependent we are on foreign oil” California Governor Gavin Newsom recently stated. But, if California followed the rest of the country’s innovative energy production agenda, the state would persist unaffected by foreign threats and in turn support domestic energy jobs.

To put it plainly, California’s high gas taxes, excessive regulation, and neglect of domestic energy production have put its citizens in financial straits while the rest of the country is doing just fine.