July 13 (Reuters) - California, the seventh-biggest U.S. crude oil producer, has put a near halt on issuing permits for new drilling this year, according to state data.
The state's Geologic Energy Management Division, known as CalGEM, has approved seven new active well permits in 2023. That compares with the more than 200 it had issued by this time last year.
The stalled approvals represent the latest tension between California's bold environmental ambitions and its role as a major oil and gas producer and consumer.
New drilling permits have steadily declined since Gavin Newsom became governor in 2019, but the current rate of approval represents a sudden and dramatic drop.
"It's just fallen off the cliff," Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA), said in an interview. The industry has more than 1,400 permit applications for new wells awaiting CalGEM approval, half of which are more than a year old, he said.
In an email, CalGEM attributed the smaller number of approvals to both the broader decline in California oil production and litigation that has paused permitting by Kern County, the center of the state's oil industry.
CalGEM is processing far more approvals to permanently close wells than for any other activity, the agency said.
"We expect this permitting trend to continue as California transitions away from fossil fuels," CalGEM said.
