California’s Oil Rush Slips Into Its Final Act

California’s experiment in climate governance has turned the state’s oil and refining sector into one of the most politically charged energy battlegrounds in the world. A long-standing commitment to environmental targets – culminating in a planned end to oil extraction by 2045 – has collided with the realities of high demand, aging infrastructure, and a shrinking refining base. Oil output has already plunged from 760,000 b/d in 2000 to roughly 250,000 b/d in 2025, while the number of operational refineries has fallen from…