The Los Angeles City Council has voted to ban new oil and gas drilling and phase out existing wells over the next 2 decades, a historic decision that comes after years of complaints by residents about how pollution from nearby drilling has caused them health issues.
In a 12-0 vote, the council on Friday approved an ordinance it began drafting earlier this year that will immediately ban new extraction and shut down existing operations within 20 years. The decision to ban new drilling and decommission existing wells is one of the strongest environmental policies enacted in the state and could pave the way for other cities around the country to adopt similar measures.
Historically, environmental legislation that has originated in California has often spread to other parts of the country, such as cleaner emissions standards for cars in the 1970s. More recently, the state banned the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 and New York state soon followed suit.
There are 26 oil and gas fields and more than 5,000 active and idle wells in LA. Wells are spread out all over the city, including in Wilmington, Harbor Gateway, downtown, West LA, South LA, and the northwest San Fernando Valley.
The oil industry has largely opposed the city’s ban, arguing that phasing out production will make LA more dependent on foreign energy.
Hector Barajas, a spokesman for the California Independent Petroleum Association, which represents independent oil and gas producers in the state, said that 2.5 million bbl of oil produced by the city last year would have to be replaced by imports from Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, and Iraq given the state’s new ban. The US now produces over 12 million B/D, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“Our in-state oil is the only California climate-compliant oil in the world, given that oil producers must adhere to the state’s greenhouse-gas reduction program and account for all emissions,” Barajas said. “Foreign oil imports are totally exempt from those requirements.”