Berkeley Study Finds Oil Production Could Reduce Methane Emissions

California energy policy just ran headlong into scientific reality.

A new study, soon to be released publicly, led by UC Berkeley Professor James Rector shows that natural methane seeps and orphaned wells emit orders of magnitude more methane than active oil production equipment in Southern California. The findings, summarized this week by Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy at the California Policy Center, present a stunning challenge to the narrative driving California’s campaign to eliminate in-state oil production.

Rector’s study, titled “Fugitive Emissions from Natural Seeps and Orphaned Wells are Orders of Magnitude Greater than Fugitive Emissions from Production Equipment in Southern California,” found that:

• Nearly half (49%) of all methane emissions in Los Angeles County come from natural seeps and orphaned wells.

• Active oil and gas production equipment accounts for only 0.6% of total methane emissions.

• The remaining 48% come primarily from dairies, landfills, and wastewater facilities, not from the petroleum industry.

In other words, active oil wells aren’t the problem; they’re part of the solution.

Oil Extraction Relieves Underground Pressure

California has some of the most geologically active oil basins in the world. The Los Angeles Basin alone contains billions of barrels of trapped hydrocarbons, and its fault-ridden geology creates natural venting pathways that have been leaking oil and gas for tens of thousands of years. This explains the tar balls that routinely wash ashore on Santa Barbara beaches and the famous La Brea Tar Pits bubbling in downtown Los Angeles.

Rector’s research suggests that ongoing oil extraction reduces subsurface pressure, helping to curb methane seepage through natural vents and abandoned wells. When California halts production, it doesn’t stop the emissions, it simply lets nature leak more methane into the atmosphere.

As Ring notes, “Instead of finding and capping hundreds of thousands of dormant wells at a cost of tens of billions of dollars, we could revive safe, modern oil extraction to relieve subsurface pressure, reduce emissions, and create thousands of jobs.”

Santa Barbara’s Backward Policy

These findings directly undercut the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, which recently voted to phase out local oil drilling, claiming it would “save lives, reduce air pollution, and help meet our climate goals.”

The data suggests the opposite. By ending local production, Santa Barbara will likely increase methane emissions, destroy good-paying jobs, and force California to import even more foreign oil, which comes with far greater environmental and humanitarian costs.

The Bigger Picture: Reality vs. Rhetoric

California imports more than 75% of the oil it consumes, despite sitting atop abundant reserves. Even by the state’s own accounting, petroleum still provides 47% of all energy consumed, while natural gas adds another 33%. Yet Sacramento continues to pursue a policy of self-inflicted scarcity.

As Ring points out, “There is nowhere on Earth where the environmental and labor standards for oil drilling are higher than they are here in California.” Producing oil locally reduces shipping emissions, reduces methane seepage, and keeps energy jobs and tax revenues inside the state.

A Path Toward Abundance

Rector’s findings open a path toward an energy policy based on science and abundance, not ideology. More responsible drilling could reduce methane emissions, sustain water and environmental programs, and restore California’s position as a leader in pragmatic environmental policy, one that balances climate goals with energy security and economic vitality.

As the California Policy Center’s Californians for Energy and Water Abundance project argues, “More drilling, not less, may be what it takes to save lives, reduce air pollution, and meet our climate goals.”

The data is in. Science is clear. The myth that ending California oil production helps the planet has finally sprung a leak.