Los Angeles – October 16, 2026 -- California approved 433 oil well drilling permits in the first nine months of 2026, a 277% jump over the 115 approved across all of 2023 through 2025, according to analysis by Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance of state data.
Approvals rose another 22.7% between the first half of the year and the first nine months. The figures come from the California Department of Geological Energy Management (CalGEM).
New-well approvals climb from 2 to 80 in a year
Permits for new well drilling reached 80 in the third quarter of 2026, up from two in the same quarter of 2025. Permits to rework or redrill existing wells fell only slightly, and well plugging dropped 5.2% against the third quarter of 2025.
Kern County court tentatively voids the statewide fracking ban
A Kern County trial court tentatively ruled days ago that California's fracking ban, ordered by Governor Gavin Newsom and in effect since 2024, is invalid. The ruling responds to oil industry lawsuits. If finalized, state regulators would have to reconsider fracking permits denied more than five years ago. Consumer Advocate Liza Tucker questioned whether the administration will challenge the decision immediately.
SB 237 allows up to 2,000 new Kern County wells a year
Newsom signed SB 237 on September 19, 2025. The package allows Kern County to approve up to 2,000 new oil wells annually, potentially reaching 20,000 permits over a decade. It treats the county's existing environmental impact report as sufficient for CEQA compliance, which removes the need for project-specific review. That report has been the subject of litigation by environmental groups for years.
Newsom described the shift as a response to surging gas and energy costs. "We're in the practical application business," he said at the signing.
Refinery closures and a shelved penalty precede the policy shift
Two refiners announced plans to close operations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles in fall 2024 and spring 2025. Regulators at the California Energy Commission then shelved a proposed penalty on refiners for price gouging, which Newsom had called for and signed into law in 2023. California gas prices now run nearly $2 above the US average, and refining margins are among the highest on record, the groups said.
Policy reversal follows a series of restrictions since 2019
Newsom imposed a temporary fracking permit moratorium in 2019. In 2021 he directed regulators to end new fracking permits by January 2024 and asked air regulators to examine a phase-out of all oil extraction by 2045. In 2022 he signed SB 1137, which bars new drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools and other sensitive sites.
Opponents cite $26 million in oil lobbying
More than 120 environmental groups protested the 2025 package. Tucker said oil companies spent $26 million lobbying California officials in the first nine months of 2025. Kyle Ferrar, Western Program Director at FracTracker Alliance, called on the administration to develop a refinery management model that pairs environmental protections with lower fuel prices.