California governor seeks ban on new fracking by 2024

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said California will stop issuing fracking permits by 2024 and halt all oil extraction by 2045, using his authority to take on the state's powerful oil and gas industry in a year he will likely face voters in a recall election.

If successful, California — the seventh-largest oil-producing state in the nation — would become the largest to ban fracking and likely the first in the world to set a deadline for the end of all oil production.

“As we move to swiftly decarbonize our transportation sector and create a healthier future for our children, I’ve made it clear I don’t see a role for fracking in that future and similarly, believe that California needs to move beyond oil,” Newsom said at a news release.

California was once one of the largest oil-producing states in the nation, with a robust industry centered in the Central Valley just north of Los Angeles. But by 2020, the state’s oil production fell to its lowest level in state history, down 68% from its peak in 1985. Still, the industry employs about 152,000 people and is responsible for $152.3 billion in economic output, according to a 2019 study.

“Curbing in-state production through a well stimulation ban would not change the fact that Californians demand 1.4 million barrels of oil each day,” said Rock Zierman, CEO of the California Independent Petroleum Association. “Instead of meeting our vast needs with California oil produced under the planet’s strictest regulations, we would economically reward foreign regimes who do not share our environmental standards and human rights values.”

As the nation's most populous state with nearly 40 million residents, California does use a lot of oil. But the state has taken steps to curb its demand. Last year, state regulators approved new rules to...