Newsom Begs Oil Producers not to Abandon California – Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

Don’t they realise $8 / gallon pump price in California could torpedo Newsom’s presidential ambitions?

Gavin Newsom warms to Big Oil in climate reversal

BY ALEXEI KOSEFF,  ALEJANDRO LAZO AND  MAYA C. MILLERAUGUST 18, 2025

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For decades, the state has raced to end its reliance on fossil fuels and prioritize clean energy. Its relationship with oil companies became particularly contentious in the past two years, as Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators held two special sessions to crack down on alleged price gouging at the pump.

But now two of its last remaining fuel refineries are closing sooner than California expected, tossing a simmering emergency into officials’ laps. With a hotly debated forecast that $8-per-gallon gasoline might be on the horizon, there has been a remarkable shift at the state Capitol. Led by Newsom, who just last fall was lambasting oil companies for “screwing” consumers, California may soon let its black gold flow again.

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Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders are now negotiating a plan with the industry to boost stagnating production in California’s oil-drilling hub of Kern County — and avert a nightmare scenario for a governor with national ambitions and a party that has promised to focus on affordability. …

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Read more: https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/08/oil-compromise-california-legislature/

If you thought Californian state finances are crazy now, wait until oil companies tighten the screws on the Newsom administration, to claw back some of the profits lost to Newsom’s Net Zero policies.

California is learning the hard way, once you start playing favourites in the energy market, in the end everyone has their hand out demanding subsidies and special favours.

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