California Reconsiders Oil as Newsom Scrambles to Contain Gas Price Fallout

In a long piece, Bloomberg wrote that Governor Gavin Newsom’s once-combative stance against the oil industry is shifting, and quickly. Just a year after branding Big Oil the “polluted heart of this climate crisis,” California’s top officials are now working behind the scenes to keep the industry from leaving the state.

The reason? Gasoline prices are spiking, refineries are shutting down, and California faces a looming fuel supply crisis just as Newsom appears to be preparing for a national political future.

California’s green agenda is seeing cracks created by reality.

Chevron moved its headquarters out of California. Phillips 66 and Valero plan to shut down major refineries by 2026. The state’s largest inland pipeline is losing millions of dollars every month. In response, Newsom’s administration has reversed course by streamlining oil permitting and engaging directly with oil executives to prevent further supply loss.

Bloomberg further notes that this is not about energy. It is about optics. Newsom, widely rumored to be a 2028 presidential contender, is under pressure to bring down California’s famously high gas prices, which average more than one dollar above the national average.

The message is clear. California still needs oil. And for the first time in years, state leaders are acknowledging that reality.