CIPA-Backed Congressional Letter Sounds Alarm Over California Energy Policy

In a major development reinforcing CIPA’s long-standing warnings, CIPA sent a letter July 9 to U.S. Secretaries Pete Hegseth (Defense) and Doug Burgum (Interior) calling on the federal government to assess the national security implications of California’s increasingly hostile policies toward in-state crude oil production and refining capacity.

The letter outlines a stark reality: California once had more than 40 refineries, but now operates only eight that produce gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Even more alarming, at least two of those remaining facilities are considering closure or conversion to biofuel operations in the near future.

The letter makes clear what CIPA has long emphasized: a stable, local supply of California crude is not only essential to the state’s economy and environment, but to the country’s national defense. US Energy Insecurity equals Military Vulnerability.

California is home to a stunning concentration of military infrastructure:

• 8 Army bases

• 7 Air Force bases

• 15 Navy installations

• 2 Coast Guard facilities

As the letter states:

“These installations require adequate supplies of energy in order to function and provide critical national security defense… California’s deliberate favoring of imported foreign crude over domestic sources… threatens the nation’s military preparedness.”

The concern is clear. If these bases cannot reliably access refined fuels, especially jet fuel and diesel, from local sources, their readiness and response capabilities could be compromised.

The letter also highlights a crucial, underappreciated fact: a single boutique refinery in Bakersfield supplies 80% of California’s transformer oil, essential to the functioning of the electric grid.

Citing the Defense Production Act of 1950, the authors urge the Secretaries to assess whether this situation constitutes a national security risk. Title III and Title VII of the Act give the President of the United States broad authority to classify materials like crude oil and refined fuels as “critical and strategic,” and to ensure adequate supplies through prioritized contracting and emergency response powers.

This isn’t a fringe request. As the letter notes, the Act has been used by Presidents Clinton, Obama, Trump, and Biden to safeguard critical infrastructure.

CIPA has consistently urged state and federal policymakers to confront the strategic foolishness of dismantling California’s domestic oil supply chain while continuing to rely on foreign imports from environmental offenders.

This letter is one of the clearest validations yet that CIPA’s warnings are being taken seriously at the federal level. It calls for:

• A full review of California’s energy policy implications on national defense.

• Immediate action to safeguard energy supply to the 41 military bases in California.

• Consideration of additional protection for bases in neighboring Arizona and Nevada that depend on California fuel supply.

• Drafting a formal opinion for the President under the Defense Production Act of 1950.

For CIPA member companies, this letter is a resounding reminder that advocacy works, and that the risks of Sacramento’s anti-oil policies are finally breaking through at the national level.

Whether producing, servicing, or supplying the oil and gas infrastructure that keeps California moving, CIPA members play a vital role in national resilience.

This federal engagement now offers a rare opportunity for California’s declining energy policy to be scrutinized not only from a market perspective, but through the lens of homeland security and defense preparedness.

CIPA will continue to track and support federal efforts that elevate the importance of in-state energy production to national security. When California oil production is under siege, so is America’s strategic strength.