Oil producers first began producing crude from the Inglewood Oil Field in 1924. For 100 years, the field has been producing like gangbusters as it sits atop one of the largest oil fields on the planet. But members of the legislature are trying to change that.
On the final night of the 2024 session, Assembly Member Isaac Bryan’s bill, AB 2716, was passed by both the Senate and the Assembly and transmitted to the governor for signature. Mr. Bryan targeted the Inglewood Oil Field for closure via AB 2716 by penalizing the producer for operating wells that produce less than 15 barrels a day. 80% of all wells in California fall into that category.
The bill’s passage creates a concerning outcome and sets a very bad precedent. Capriciously targeting an oil field for closure is beyond the pale. The bill now jeopardizes the operator and the royalty owners, not to mention the oil workers earning a living in that oil field.
Lawmakers say they don’t want to harm jobs held by “frontline communities,” yet they go forward with bills that actually shut down operations and which will cause minorities to lose their jobs. While the bill was amended several times, it remained a very bad bill to the very end.
If the governor signs the bill, the state could face a massive lawsuit for “takings.” The last line of defense against an entire state machine trying to destroy the oil industry may come down to the genius of the Founding Fathers. Royalty owners and oil producers have rights to minerals and the financial resources recovered by the oil and gas, particularly those duly permitted by both the state and local governments, as is the case in the Inglewood oil field.
Shutting down an oil field simply because a lawmaker doesn’t like having it there is unjust. It is in the middle of LA and has been producing for 100 years and the people living around it are no more or less healthy than people living in any big city. There is no harm whatsoever related to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy which overlays the Inglewood Oil Field. Angelos use the conservancy as a park for running, hiking, walking, riding, and other outdoor activities.
Interestingly, because of oil production, it’s a rare plot of open space in the middle of LA’s urban sprawl. It seems Assembly Member Bryan prefers less open space and more urban sprawl being built over perfectly profitable oil wells that long pre-date the neighborhoods surrounding it.