California Oil Permits Hit 433 in 9 Months, Up 277% on 2023-25
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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.