Big Oil Strikes Back

By Gabriela Carson, May 9, 2023

In December of 2022, Los Angeles city lawmakers unanimously passed a bill that would ban new oil and gas wells in residential areas while phasing out existing wells over the next 20 years. Predictably, oil and gas companies immediately expressed outrage and began mobilizing to prevent it from becoming a reality.

Los Angeles is the second largest city in the US, and it has the potential to make a large difference in the US energy profile and emissions in general. In addition, “Los Angeles is one of the biggest sites of oil drilling in the nation’s most populous state, along with Kern County in the California Central Valley.” According to the American Lung Association, Bakersfield, a city in Kern County, has among the worst air quality and air pollution rates in the country (and Los Angeles has similar statistics). Bakersfield in particular has high rates of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which are more immediate, quantifiable human health effects of the same practices that contribute to longer-term climate change. 

California’s economy and environment have a major impact on the nation as a whole, so it serves as an interesting example of how public and private interests in the US fight for their respective causes. This bill in particular is estimated to impact about three million people; the oil setback bill establishes a 3200 foot safety zone between residential communities (which also includes schools and hospitals) and new oil wells. Not only would the bill ban new wells in the safety zones, it “would also require companies to monitor leaks and emissions and install alarms.” State Senator Lena Gonzalez, whose constituency includes Long Beach, introduced the bill with environmental justice concerns in mind.

In late January, Los Angeles county followed the city’s example and banned new oil wells. According to Bloomberg, ““the ban doesn’t include the Baldwin Hills area, which encompasses the Inglewood Oil Field, one of LA’s most productive.” The pushback began almost immediately. One of the outraged companies that has taken legal action against the city is Warren Resources, a company largely operating in Wilmington, Los Angeles, which is a majority Latino neighborhood. 

California Independent Petroleum Association

The California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA) is a lobbying group that promotes the interests of oil and gas companies in the state. CIPA’s leadership is made up mostly of C-Level oil and gas company executives. The association has two political action committees (PACs), CIPAC state and CIPAC federal, which indicates that they are involved in voter education and lobbying.

In the past, CIPA has sued youth activists who were advocating for clean air. Following the lawsuit, CIPA filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021. “The move comes after a Los Angeles court ordered the group to pay more than $2 million to the Center for Biological Diversity, youth groups from South Los Angeles and Wilmington, and the city of Los Angeles for filing a retaliatory lawsuit against them,” according to a statement on the Center for Biological Diversity’s website (Follow this link to read more about this issue, including a quote from a Wilmington youth organizer.) Fossil fuel industry associations like CIPA have too much to lose when it comes to the fight against climate change, so they will not think twice about risking the health and futures of those affected by their destructive sector.

Big Oil Strikes Back

Shortly after the city council vote, petitioners began to collect signatures for a referendum called “Stop the Energy Shutdown.” The title of the referendum itself is misleading. “Energy Shutdown” paints an alarming picture of blackouts and power shut offs, rather than the gradual transition to cleaner energy the law aims to achieve. The setback bill will not go into effect immediately, and CIPA has collected “enough signatures to force a referendum onto the 2024 state ballot,” which buys oil companies more time. This means that in 2024 it will be up to the voters to decide whether or not they support the oil setback bill and its environmental protection goals.

In different parts of the state, there are varied setback rules, and in other areas there are none at all. CIPA officials had previously claimed that the “3,200-foot setback [was decided upon] ‘without any scientific basis.’ Advocates of the law, however, point to a 2021 CalGEM document authored by a group of researchers which provided evidence to support the setback.” Luckily, with “growing public concern for climate change, advocacy groups such as Food & Water Watch are already organizing against the industry’s campaign to block well setbacks.” 

According to an Inside Climate News article, the canvassers who were collecting signatures for the referendum lied to CA residents in order to get their support. More specifically, petitioners allegedly claimed that they were collecting signatures to stop new drilling, rather than the true purpose of the petition, which was the exact opposite. If petitioners really were misleading people in order to get their signatures, they broke the law in order to protect large corporations’ harmful interests. These types of dubious tactics are the ones validated by the efforts of industry associations like CIPA and the Chamber of Commerce, as well as Big Oil and Gas. Climate disinformation has the power to impede large scale environmental and political progress. It also serves to protect the interests of the extractive industries, as evidenced by the decades-long deception campaign led by major fossil fuel companies.

US Chamber of Commerce Involvement in Oil and Gas Regulation

There were similar political battles in 2022 farther up the coast in Monterey County. There, the US Chamber of Commerce filed an amicus brief in support of Chevron and their pushback against local lawmakers who sought to protect their constituents from the harms of oil and gas wells. This is consistent with the Chamber’s commitment to backing wealthy companies who are doing measurable damage to the environment and affected populations.

An Added Layer of Complexity

In late February of 2023, California State Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D) introduced a bill that would require more oil production in the state. According to Bains, the goal is to reduce CA’s oil imports. She cites human rights violations and environmental justice issues that occur around the world at other oil production sites with less stringent regulations in place than CA as the impetus for a reduction in imports. The bill would affect all oil refined in CA, as 50% would have to be from the state by 2035. This latest development raises several questions about the future of CA’s energy production and profile, while reminding us of the environmental justice implications at play at the local versus international levels.

CIPA, The US Chamber of Commerce, and other lobbying groups will carry on serving private interests to the detriment of the current and future wellbeing of marginalized groups. We must continue to support local lawmakers and communities in their fight against oil and gas industry giants.

Change The Chamber is a bipartisan coalition of over 100 student groups, including undergraduates, graduate students and recent graduates. Contact Change The Chamber at changeuschamber@gmail.com.