California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed his administration to take steps to phase out oil and gas drilling in one of the nation’s top oil-producing states by 2045 and to ban new hydraulic fracturing permits within 3 years.

One of the last oil facilities in state waters on the path towards full decommissioning slated to begin in 2022.

Living near active oil and gas wells may put pregnant people at higher risk of having low-birth-weight babies, especially in rural areas, finds a new study of birth outcomes in California.

In general, this shift elevates the importance of public health and environmental considerations in the regulation of oil and natural gas production in the state. In turn, production in the state is likely—at least in the near and medium term—to face both longer odds and longer waits for permitting.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is cracking down on oil producers by halting the approval of hundreds of hydraulic fracturing permits until independent scientists can review them.

Methane emissions from California garbage dumps far surpass emissions from oil fields, according to a NASA survey.

The measure bars any California leasing authority from allowing pipelines or other oil and gas infrastructure to be built on state property. It makes it difficult for drilling to occur because federally protected areas are adjacent to state-owned land.

This paper discusses studies conducted on two California offshore fields that may be abandoned in the near future. These studies examined the feasibility of repurposing these fields for offshore gas storage by using their reservoir voidage and existing pipeline facilities.

If proven economic, solar EOR technology could represent an environmentally and energy friendly solution for California’s heavy oil producers.

In thermal enhanced oil recovery there is one big ingredient: steam. A new startup from Germany believes it has found the oil industry’s cheapest way to make it.